The Closing Chapter
by Dozo14
Summary: Post season 8 story. Six months after the ultimate battle, the Charmed Ones are moving on with their lives until the Elders ask them to reclaim Magic School. Meanwhile Billie faces her past and Christy's ghost.
1. Chapter 1

The Closing Chapter

xxx

Piper Halliwell was running through the dark, deserted hallways of Magic school. A look of panic and fear was on her face as she desperately tried to reach something. She kept running and entered the large round library.

Billie and Christy were standing in the center of the room with Phoebe and Paige across from them, mirroring how they were facing each other during the Ultimate battle. The only difference was that Piper was not standing in between her sisters. Piper knew what was about to happen.

"No wait!" she yelled out too late.

Both pairs of sisters raised their hands at each other, Billie and Christy released a powerful stream of fire while Phoebe and Paige countered it with a stream of blue lighting. The streams clashed in the middle of the library, as they met small energy blasts were released, destroying everything around them.

As the battle raged on Billie and Christy slowly started to gain the upper hand. Their stream of fire pushed back the lighting of the two Charmed Ones. Billie and Christy's faces were filled with determination and desire to kill, while Phoebe and Paige were fighting for their lives and slowly getting weaker. Their stream of lighting started to flicker.

Phoebe suddenly broke her concentration and looked at Piper.

"Piper, help us!" she cried out.

At that moment both she and Paige lowered their hands, drained of their magic. The stream of lighting flickered once again and then died out. Piper screamed for her sisters as the fire pressed on and engulfed them in flames, vanquishing them.

Piper fell to the ground crying hysterically. She looked up at Billie and Christy, who stare at her with a cold, demonic expression. Then they suddenly looked the other way.

Piper followed their eyes to the other side of the room, where Leo was standing with the angel of destiny. Leo looked at her with tears in his eyes. Piper realized what was going to happen next.

"Leo!" she cried out as a yellow stream of orbs started swirling around him, leaving him frozen inside a metallic glass display. The angel of destiny then teleported him away. Piper screamed out his name and cried, knowing she was alone. Billie and Christy walked up to her and stared down at her. Piper looked up at them with a hateful glare.

"I will kill you." Piper said.

Billie and Christy didn't say anything, they just raised their hands and released a stream of fire.

xxx

"No!" Piper yelled out as she shot up in bed. She was breathing heavily as she looked around. She was in her bedroom, it was early morning and warm sunlight was already shining through her window. She immediately placed her hand next to her to feel Leo lying beside her, still asleep. She let out a sigh of relief, it was just a dream, the same horrible one she'd been having for the last six months.

Piper carefully sneaked out of bed and put on a fluffy pink bathrobe before leaving the room. She walked to Wyatt's room and peaked inside, then she did the same with Chris. Both boys were still peacefully asleep like their father. Just a dream, Piper reminded herself as she headed downstairs.

When she entered the kitchen she made herself some coffee and checked the calendar hanging on the fridge. The word 'Brunch' was written down on today's date. Her sisters and their husbands/boyfriends were coming over for a family brunch. Piper herself had been pushing for it for a couple of weeks now, since she has barely seen her sisters the last few months, but now she absolutely wasn't in the mood for a nice family moment.

After having a cup of coffee, Piper decided to try forgetting about the dream and focus on the good things in her life. Their destiny as the Charmed Ones was finally fulfilled and she could finally enjoy a relatively normal life. To get her mind of everything, she started doing what she does best, cooking.

xxx

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, another Charmed One woke up next to the love of her life. Phoebe stared at the man lying next to her in bed and knew she had finally found what she had been looking for all these years. The last six months had been wonderful. She had Coop had gotten closer than ever now that future Wyatt had revealed that their love wasn't forbidden and that they were even married in the future.

Phoebe carefully got up and put on a robe, not wanting to wake Coop, and sneaked out of the bedroom. After getting some tea, she settled on the couch with her laptop and a pile of 'dear Phoebe' letters. Her luck in love had also done wonders for her column, the reviews she had received the last months had been very positive. Someone had even recommended she should write a book, something Phoebe had never thought about before.

Phoebe opened her documents and looked at a small document named 'finding love'. It were just a couple of notes and some short drabbles she had written down, but could it really be good enough to become a book?

As Phoebe was sorting through her files she noticed a picture, she double-clicked on it to reveal a photo of her and Billie at P3, dancing and laughing with drinks in her hands. Seeing the picture hurt Phoebe, knowing everything that had happened since then. Her finger moved to the 'delete button' but she was hesitating to click it.

Billie had betrayed them, but only because she desperately wanted her sister back. Christy was evil, but Billie was so blinded by her love for her that she just couldn't see it until it was too late. In just a few weeks, Christy had managed to warp Billie's mind into thinking that the Charmed Ones were evil, with the Ultimate battle as a consequence. And if it wasn't for Piper reversing time, Phoebe and Paige would have both died at the hands of their betrayer.

Still, Phoebe couldn't hate Billie for what she had done, if anyone knew what it was like to become evil for love, it was Phoebe herself. For months she refused to see Cole had become the Source and when she found out she even became queen of the underworld for him.

"Hey, what are you doing up so early?" Coop's voice sounded form behind Phoebe.

She turned around to see him standing in the bedroom door, dressed in just a pair of black boxer briefs. Phoebe instantly clicked the photo of Billie away.

"I was up, so I decided to work on my column." Phoebe said.

""You should come back to bed." Coop said.

"I wish I could, but we have to get ready for brunch, remember?" Phoebe asked.

"Right." Coop said. "Okay, then I am going to take a shower, wanna join me?" he added with a smile.

"In a minute." Phoebe said.

"I'll be waiting." Coop said and went into the bathroom.

Phoebe waited until she heard she shower being turned on and then turned back to her laptop. She opened the picture one more time and started at it. Should she reach out to Billie? The girl had lost everything in the last few months, she needed a friend. After looking at Billie smiling in the picture, Phoebe decided it was too soon, she wasn't ready yet.

Phoebe shut down her computer and got up. For a short moment she felt a little nausea and dizziness and reached for her stomach. As soon as the moment passed she shrugged it off and joined Coop in the shower.

xxx

Unlike her sisters, Paige Matthews was not ready to give her magical life. She wasn't fighting demons anymore, but she was more than just a witch. She was also a whitelighter and now that the ultimate battle had been fought, she had more time for her charges. That is why, when both her sisters were home with their husband/boyfriend on this sunny morning, Paige orbed into a small back alley in the center of town. She had been tipped off by the Elders that a future whitelighter was about to be attacked. Paige looked around and noticed a ripped open garbage bag on the ground, she covered her nose to block out the smell.

"Great, another alley. Why can't they ever attack in a nice park or at the beach?" Paige remarked to herself.

She hid behind a dumpster on the other side of the alley waiting for something to happen. A few seconds later a young woman came out of the backdoor of a diner. She was wearing a waitress uniform and was carrying two large garbage bags. The waitress was softly singing a song Paige didn't know as she opened a dumpster and threw away the garbage bags.

Just as she turned around and wanted to walk back to the diner, a trail of black orbs descended in front of the door and took the shape of a darklighter. The waitress screamed and stumbled back against the dumpster.

"Where did you come from?" She asked scared.

"Purgatory, but that's nothing compared to the place you're going." The darklighter said.

He raised his hand and a crossbow appeared in a puff of black smoke, he aimed it at his target.

"Please, No!" the waitress begged as she cowered against the dumpster.

"Please don't beg, it's really annoying." The darklighter said and fired.

The waitress screamed as she saw the arrow coming her way. Paige jumped up from her hiding place and waved her hand. "Arrow." She called out. The darklighter's arrow disappeared in a wave of blue orbs and reappeared. The darklighter quickly turned and faced Paige.

"You!" he said, his voice was filled with hate.

"I'm sorry, do we know each other?" Paige asked confused.

"I know who you are, Charmed One." The darklighter said and aimed his crossbow at Paige.

The darklighter conjured up three more arrows on his crossbow and fired them all at once. Paige didn't move and hold out her hand.

"Arrows." She called out.

All three arrows were surrounded by blue orbs, right before they reached Paige they stopped and faced the other way, pointing straight the darklighter.

"If you really knew me that well you should have known that that wasn't going to work." Paige said and lowered her hand.

The arrows were shot back at the darklighter and pierced his chest. He screamed as he exploded in a ball of fire. His crossbow fell to the ground. Paige walked over to the waitress and gave her hand to help her up.

"Are you okay?" Paige asked.

"I think so." The waitress said while drying her tears. "What was that thing? And why did he want to kill me?"

"That thing is called a darklighter and he wanted to kill you because you have a very special destiny. You are meant to do great things in the future." Paige explained.

"What kind of things?" the waitress asked surprised. "I can't do anything, I'm just a waitress."

"It will all become clear someday, Sophie, but for now I think it's best if we forget this ever happened, so you can live out your life as you were meant to." Paige said.

"How can I ever forget this happened, and how did you know my name?" the waitress, Sophie, asked doubtful.

Paige didn't answer her questions, instead she held out one hand and softly blew into it. Sparkling white dust flew up from her hand and into Sophie's face. Sophie coughed and tried to wave the dust away.

"What happened, what am I doing here?" Sophie asked a little dazed.

"You were just taking out the trash." Paige told her.

"Right. Thanks." Sophie said and walked back into the diner.

Paige waited until she closed the door and smiled. "Great stuff, that memory dust. I could have used that when I was younger."

She was about to orb out when she noticed the crossbow lying on the ground. She walked over to it and picked it up.

"Great, a souvenir. Better not let this lying around." She said and orbed out.

xxx

Back at their apartment, Henry was sitting on the couch watching the news on the TV. He was fully dressed and impatiently checking his watch every few seconds. Annoyed, he turned off the TV and threw the remote on a chair. He started pacing around the room, still checking his watch. He looked up when a blue orbs suddenly materialized and took the shape of his wife.

"Paige, where have you been? We're supposed to be at your sister's brunch in 10 minutes." Henry said.

"Sorry I'm late, honey, I was busy trying to save a life!" Paige said. "And then when I vanquished the darklighter I had to drop off his crossbow so it could be destroyed."

"Everything turn out okay?" Henry asked.

"Yes, darklighter destroyed, charge saved, everything is fine." Paige said.

"Good, now you can jingle up there that you have the rest of the day off right?" Henry asked.

"I doesn't work like that, Henry, you know that." Paige said. "It's the same with your parolees, you have to be there for them whenever they need you."

"Yeah I know, I just wish we could be somewhere on time for a change. You're always late, you know that?" Henry said.

"Yes, but isn't that one of the many reasons why you love me?" Paige asked charmingly.

"Just get ready." Henry replied with a smile.

Paige walked up to Henry and gave him a kiss. "We could be even later, if you know what I mean.." she seductively said as she leaned into him and kissed his neck.

"Paige, come on, don't." Henry said and tried to resist his wife's temptation. "Your family is waiting for us."

Paige started unbuttoning his shirt. "Well, it's a good thing they're used to waiting."

She finished unbuttoning his shirt and let it fall off his shoulders. She then pushed him down on the couch and crawled on him. She took of her jacket and threw in onto the ground. Henry smiled as Paige leaned in to kiss him. As they started kissing Henry placed an arm on her back and turned them around, placing him on top.

""Let's take this to the bedroom." Paige said and orbed both of them out.

xxx

Inside her dorm room, Billie Jenkins was lying in bed. With the curtains closed the room was dark and depressing, just like Billie herself has been feeling for the last six months. It had been six months of crying herself to sleep and waking up screaming from the horrible nightmares.

How had it come to this? Before she had parents who loved her, a sister who she just got back and friends who loved and treated her like family, until she betrayed them. Now her parents were killed by demons, her sister was dead by her own hands and her friends hated her and wanted nothing to do with her. She was alone, and it was all her own fault. She hated herself for being so stupid, so ignorant, so easy to manipulate.

She couldn't even blame Christy, she was raised by demons, raised to be evil and didn't know any better. But Billie herself, she had seen the good the Charmed Ones do, the loving women that they are, and still she went along with her sister and became convinced they were evil. All because they had normal desires like any other person and wanted a normal life for themselves.

Billie was lost, she didn't know what to do because she knew nothing she could do would make it all right again. She wished she could just lie here and wait for it all to end.

There was a knock on the door.

""Billie, are you in there?" A familiar voice sounded. "Billie, it's me Taylor, open up."

Billie ignored her in the hope she would go away, Taylor couldn't understand. She knew her parents were dead but she didn't know about magic, about her sister, about what she had done.

"Billie, I know you are in there, just open up and talk to me." Taylor said through the door.

Just go away, Billie thought to herself.

"Look Billie if you're not going to open the door, that's okay." Taylor said sympathetically. "I know I can only help you when you want me to. Just know that I am here for you when you do!" There were a few moments of silence. "Bye Billie."

Billie turned around and stared at the wall.

"Well, wasn't that sweet. What good friends you have." A voice sounded from behind Billie.

That voice, it can't be, it's impossible, Billie thought to herself. Her body felt like ice, it was as if everything came rushing back at once. She quickly turned around to see her dead sister standing in the middle of her room. Her face quickly became a mixture of horror, confusion and pain.

"You know, the ones you didn't stab in the back." Christy sarcastically added to her comment.

"No, it can't be." Billie whispered. "Christy?"

Billie slowly got up and took little steps to her sister.

"How is this possible? You can't be real, can you?" Billie asked.

"Oh I am real, little sister. Just incorporeal and stuff." Christy said. To demonstrate she moved her hand right through Billie's wooden desk.

"Are you a ghost?" Billie asked.

"Something like that." Christy said.

"What are you doing here, Christy?" Billie asked, still in shock.

"Well, I came to visit my favorite little sister." Christy said with a cheerful smile.

"Don't do this, Christy." Billie softly said, her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't do what? Pretend everything is fine? Like you haven't killed me?" Christy asked, as she did her voice changed from cheerful to dead serious.

"It was an accident, Christy." Billie said crying. "Please forgive me."

"Forgive you?" Christy asked as if she didn't even know the word meant. "How can you even ask me that?"

"I'm so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen." Billie cried out.

"I can't forgive you Billie." Christy said. "You killed me."

Upon hearing those words Billie cried out and fell to her knees. Living with the quilt was too hard to bear, but seeing and talking to Christy, hearing her words just killed her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Billie cried out.

"I am not here to torture you, Billie." Christy said.

""Why are you here?" Billie asked.

"I am here to tell you that it's not too late. We still have a chance." Christy said.

Billie looked up and dried her tears, her pain had made way for confusion.

"A chance for what?" Billie asked.

"A chance to finish what we started, Billie. We can still do it. We are the ultimate power." Christy said.

Billie became scared, even after death her troubled mind could still think of only one thing. The reason she was kidnapped and what she was trained for all these years, killing the Charmed Ones. But what could she possible be planning?

"What are you going to do, Christy?" Billie asked. She knew she had to do something to stop Christy from hurting anyone. All the pain and sorrow went away for a moment. She was now determined to stop Christy and bring her some peace.

"I can see you won't join me, that you would rather side with them. Even if it means betraying your own sister again." Christy said when she sees the look on Billie's face.

"I am not taking sides, Christy, this has to stop. Tell me what you are going to do!" Billie demanded.

"If you are not with me, sis, then you'll just have to wait and see." Christy said with an evil smile.

Then she was suddenly gone, leaving Billie standing in a dark, empty room. Billie knew she had to stop Christy and warn the sisters. But would they even listen? And was she ready to face them again after what she did?

xxx


	2. Chapter 2

The Closing Chapter 2

xxx

Piper had regained her positive attitude and had one again created an amazing meal. She stood at the dining table of the Halliwell manor organizing the table to be just perfect. She smiled as she looked at her hard work. She hoped that, despite the recurring nightmares and foreshadowing feeling of disaster she'd been having all morning, it would be a nice family brunch.

A trail of orbs descended down from the ceiling and revealed her four-year old son Wyatt dressed in his best Sunday clothes. Piper smiled and stroked his hair.

"You look great, sweetie, are you ready for the brunch?" she said with a smile.

"Yes." Wyatt said and tried to reach for a bagel on the table.

"No, no, no, honey, we have to wait for your aunts and uncles to get here." Piper said and she took his hand. "Come on, why don't you sit down?"

As she guided him to his chair Leo came downstairs holding little Chris on his shoulder. Both of them were dressed in their best clothes, just like Wyatt.

""How do you get them in those clothes, they never want to wear them when I put them on." Piper asked after giving her husband a kiss.

"It's a guy's thing, right Chris?" Leo said, causing Chris to smile.

"Well, alright, I'm going to get ready real quick. Don't let the boys eat yet, we have to wait for the others." Piper said.

"Don't worry. Go get ready." Leo said and placed Chris in his elevated seat.

Piper took one last look around before heading upstairs. Leo sat down next to Wyatt at the table.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Wyatt said.

Leo smiled and picked up a bagel. After cutting it in half he gave one piece to Wyatt.

"Don't tell your mommy, okay. It will be our secret." Leo said and also gave a piece to Chris.

Both Halliwell boys smiled as they started eating quickly before Piper got back.

Meanwhile Phoebe and Coop arrived in front of the manor in Phoebe's car. They got out and headed up the stairs to the front door. Phoebe rang the doorbell and stood waiting.

"God, it feels so weird ringing the bell here." She said.

"Well, you still have a key, don't you?" Coop asked.

"Yes I do, but I don't live here anymore, you know. I can't just barge in here whenever I feel like it." Phoebe explained.

The front door opened and the couple was greeted by Wyatt running out the door and jumping in Phoebe's arms. Leo was right behind him.

"Aunt Phoebe!" Wyatt happily said.

"Hey there, big guy. I missed you. You are getting to heavy, you know that?" Phoebe said.

"Hey, guys. Come on in." Leo said.

Phoebe entered the manor with Wyatt still on her arm and gave Leo a hug. Coop walked in behind them and shook his hand. Leo closed the door and guided them to the dining room. Phoebe waved at little Chris and he laughed at her.

"So where is Piper?" Phoebe asked as she placed Wyatt down on the floor.

"She's upstairs getting ready. She should be down any minute." Leo said.

"So how have you been Leo, it's been a while." Coop asked.

"Oh, everything's been great. It took a while to get used to being back but now we couldn't be happier. Life is just perfectly normal. So how have you been?" Leo said.

"Oh, you know, charges keeping me busy, Phoebe as well." Coop said with a smile.

"Hey." Phoebe called out jokingly.

"You guys want something to drink?" Leo asked.

"No, we'll wait for Piper." Phoebe said as she sat down at the table. The guys followed her example and sat down as well.

"So shouldn't Paige and Henry be here by now?" Coop asked.

"Oh, Paige is always late." Phoebe said. "She'll be here."

xxx

Meanwhile, upstairs, Piper was in her room combing her hair. She had just finished getting dressed and had sat down on her bed, looking in the full length mirror across the room. No matter how much she tried her mind kept going back to her dream. She knew it was connected to the bad feeling she'd been having this entire time but she didn't know what it meant. Christy was dead and Billie was out of their lives now. She should be happy and try to have a normal life. When she heard Phoebe and Coop arrived, Piper hurried up and finished her hair before heading down.

Just as Piper walked down the stairs, Paige orbed in the middle of the foyer with Henry.

"Hi, thanks for knocking." Piper said.

""Yeah, we figured we'd be late so we decided to orb." Paige said.

"Of course." Piper said sarcastically. "Hi Henry." She later added.

"Hey, Piper. Sorry we're late." Henry said.

"Never mind, you're not that late. Phoebe and Coop just arrived a few minutes go." Piper said and guided them to the dining room.

As they entered the dining room everyone happily greeted each other. After quickly catching up with each other, everyone sat down at their seats. Piper was at the head of the table with her sons at both sides. Leo sat next to Wyatt on the right with Paige and Henry beside him. On the other side of the table Phoebe was sitting next to Chris and Coop next to her. Everyone turned their attention to Piper as she raised her glass of orange juice.

"I would like to thank you all for coming." Piper began to speak. "I would like to make a small toast. The last eight years of our lives have been filled with both great and tragic things. So much has changed. We've lost our dear sister, Prue, and we have gained another beloved sister, Paige."

Piper gave Paige a smile, who smiled back at her.

"We have sacrificed a lot for our destiny but we have also gained so much in return." Piper continued. "Still, I am very glad to say that we have finally fulfilled our destiny, and that we can finally lead normal lives."

"I'll toast to that." Phoebe said, causing the others to laugh.

"Yes, thanks Pheebs." Piper said. "What I would like to say is that, no matter what our destiny is now, we will always a family and that we will always be there for each other. So therefore, I would like to toast to family."

Everyone raised their glass. "To family."

"Okay, let's get started then, shall we?" Piper said with a smile as she sat down.

Piper watched her family getting started on brunch. Everything seemed perfect and so normal, all the bad feelings she had been having just flushed away and made room for happiness. She felt as if nothing could ruin this moment, or the rest of their lives.

xxx

Billie stood out on Prescott street across from the manor. It had been months since she'd been here. It looked the same, but felt completely different. The manor had been the place that she had made the best of friends but also fought the most horrible battle. She wondered if the sisters would ever be able to forgive her.

A deep feeling of fear filled Billie when she realized what she had to do, she had to go in the manor and face the sisters. She wondered how they would react. Piper would be the worst, she had taken her betrayal the hardest, especially when she had found out Billie and Christy had stripped Wyatt's powers. Phoebe had always seemed more understanding and more forgiving and she had no idea how Paige would react. She used to be her whitelighter, but Billie had grown closer to the other sisters, since Paige was often busy with other charges or Henry.

Billie wanted to turn back, pretend that Christy had just been her imagination, but she knew it wasn't true. She didn't have a choice. The sisters just had to know Christy was... alive, dead? Billie didn't even know what she was, but she still had to tell them. They had to be warned before Christy could have her revenge and catch the sisters off guard. She took a deep breath, gathered her courage and walked up to the manor.

xxx

"Oh, I couldn't possibly eat anymore." Paige called out when Piper came back from the kitchen holding a plate of freshly baked buns.

"Don't worry, honey, I'll just take yours then." Henry said with a smile.

"What would I do without you?" Paige remarked skeptically.

"Be careful though, they are still hot." Piper said as she placed the plate on the table.

Henry picked up a bun and instantly dropped it, waving his hand to cool it down.

"Man, those are really hot." He said.

Wyatt and Chris both started giggling.

"Hey, that's not funny." Henry said, causing the boys to giggle even harder.

"Oh, don't be such a baby." Paige said and gave him a little smile.

Meanwhile on the other side of the table, Phoebe let out a sigh as she leaned forward and placed a hand on her stomach.

"Phoebe, are you okay?" Coop asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little nausea." Phoebe said. "It's okay, it usually goes away after a few minutes. I think I just ate to much or something."

Upon hearing the word usually, Piper and Paige exchanged looks and a smile.

"Why don't you take a bun, Phoebe, they're fresh from the oven." Paige said.

"No, thanks." Phoebe said, not noticing the pun.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" Piper said and got up.

Piper walked to the front door and opened it. Upon seeing who was standing in front of her she froze. She instantly knew why she'd been having that bad feeling the entire morning. A sudden rage she hadn't felt in months suddenly reached its boiling point.

"What the hell are you doing here!" she called out to Billie.

"Piper, I am sorry for coming here like this. But I really need to talk to you guys." Billie said quickly in an apologizing manner.

As soon as they heard Piper yell, Phoebe and Paige had jumped up and joined Piper at the front door. They too were shocked to see Billie standing in the door opening.

"Billie, what are you doing here?" Phoebe asked.

"Phoebe, I need to talk to you…" Billie repeated but before she could continue, she was interrupted.

"We have nothing to talk about, Billie!" Piper angrily said. "How dare you come here after everything you did?"

"I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important." Billie said.

"What is so important?" Paige asked.

"It's…" Billie started but couldn't find the right words.

"Well, what is it?" Piper asked impatiently.

"Piper, let her finish." Phoebe said.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I am not going to listen to this." Piper said and tried to walk away.

"Piper!" Phoebe called out.

"No, Phoebe. That girl tried to kill us. She betrayed us after we took her in and trusted her." Piper said while pointing at Billie. She then turned to Billie herself. "How could you do that, Billie? After everything we have done for you?"

"Piper…" Billie softly whispered as she started to cry.

Billie fell apart. She didn't know how to handle this, it was too hard. Being confronted with her mistakes was overwhelming. Piper's hatred was killing her. She couldn't find the words to warn the sisters about Christy.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this now." Billie softy said and ran away.

"Billie, wait!" Paige yelled after her.

"Piper, how could you do that?" Phoebe asked.

"Excuse me?" Piper asked angry. "How can I do that? Phoebe, what did you expect me to do? Welcome her back? She betrayed us and tries to kill us. How can you even defend her?"

"She is in pain, Piper, she had nobody left." Phoebe said. "She made mistakes and she knows it. She will have to live with those mistakes the rest of her life."

"I don't care, as long as she lives her life somewhere else. I cannot forgive her, I just can't." Piper said and walked away.

Phoebe watches as Piper stormed upstairs and then grabbed her coat.

"What are you doing?" Paige asked.

"I am going after her, Paige, she needs me now." Phoebe said.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Paige asked.

"No I'm not, but I have to try. I know what she is going through. I have made mistakes as well." Phoebe said.

"That's not the same, Phoebe." Paige said, knowing her sister was referring to her short stint as queen of the underworld.

"Isn't it?" Phoebe asked. "Look you don't have to agree with me, this is just something that I feel I need to do."

"I won't stop you." Paige said. "You're right, she does need someone. But just because you are ready to let her back in, doesn't mean that Piper and I are."

"I know that, and nobody is asking you to. I have to go, before I lose her." Phoebe said and ran out the front door, leaving Paige standing there alone.

xxx

Paige closed the door and turned around. Leo, Coop and Henry came walking into the foyer.

"What that Billie?" Leo asked.

"Yes, it was." Paige said.

"What was she doing here?" Leo asked.

"I don't know. She said she wanted to talk to us, but she run off before she could tell us about what, thanks to Piper." Paige said.

"Where is Piper?" Leo asked.

"She went upstairs. I think you need to go talk to her, calm her down." Paige said.

"Right, I'll go find her. Look after the boys, will you?" Leo said.

"Sure." Paige said.

Leo headed upstairs while Paige, Coop and Henry moved back to the diner room to keep an eye on Wyatt and Chris. The boys apparently hadn't noticed what was going on as they were playing with their food as if nothing was going on.

"Did Phoebe go after Billie?" Coop asked.

"Yes, she wanted to help her." Paige said.

"Good, she really needs it." Coop said.

"What do you mean?" Paige asked.

"I'm a cupid, remember?" Coop said. "I have the power of empathy and I could sense Billie was filled with pain. I could sense it in the other room, it was unbearable."

"I know she must be in pain, but I don't know if it's up to us to help her. I really don't know if I can after everything." Paige said.

"But Paige, aren't you still her whitelighter?" Henry asked.

"I was her whitelighter." Paige said.

"You still are, I figured that being a whitelighter was like being a parole officer." Henry said. "You don't give up on your charges, even if they make mistakes. Billie made a huge mistake, and she hurt you, I know that, but she still needs you."

"Well yeah, but…" Paige started, but didn't finish her sentence.

Paige realized that she was still Billie's whitelighter, no matter what. She also knew that she had failed as a whitelighter. The last year she had been spreading herself too thin, unable to balance her different roles as a witch, whitelighter and wife. While she had been obsessed with finding personal enlightenment, Billie had fallen through the cracks. If she had paid more attention to Billie, or had been more involved with finding Christy, maybe things would have gone different.

"You're right, Henry." Paige said. "Thank you." She added with a smile.

Suddenly, three columns of orbs descended down from the ceiling. They each took shape of a figure dressed in a white and golden robe. The Elders. One stepped forward, Paige recognized him instantly. Odin, the Elder that tried to take Leo from his family.

"Who would have guessed that a whitelighter needed a mortal to tell her how to do her job?" Odin remarked in a disapproving tone.

Xxx

Piper was standing in the middle of the Halliwell manor attic. Her eyes were red from tears and her fists were trembling from the shock and anger. She didn't know why she came up to the attic, since she hadn't been here in weeks. It was probably to be as far away from that little witch as possible. But then she realized there was another reason.

This had been the spot where she and her sisters had learned the true extend of Billie and Christy's scheming. This was where the Charmed Ones were not only betrayed by the Ultimate power, but were also deserted by the entire Magical community, after Billie and Christy had ruined their reputation. After an encounter that nearly cost them their lives, the sisters were forced to flee to the underworld, as everyone thought they were the bad guys. But the worst of all was that this was also the spot where they had used the Hollow to take her sons power and put his life at risk. She had willingly endangered Wyatt in order to get enough power to kill Piper and her sisters. Out of all the things Billie had done, this was the one thing that Piper could never forgive.

The more she thought about, the more hurt she felt. She had took Billie in, treated her and Christy like family, but still Billie had turned on them. All because she believed the sisters were evil for having normal human desires, like wanting Leo back. It didn't even make any sense.

"Piper." Leo's voice sounded behind her.

Piper turned around and faced her husband, who took her in a tight embrace. Thank God she had him back. Piper laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She could instantly feel the anger and pain slip away.

"I can't do it, Leo." Piper softly said. "I can't allow her back in my life."

"I understand." Leo said.

They stood there for a while, neither of them spoke, because they didn't need to. Piper never wanted to let go, the fear of losing him again would probably never be completely gone. Leo was about to say something, but Piper already knew what he was going to say.

"You think I need to talk to her, don't you?" Piper asked.

"You don't have to forgive her, Piper, or let her back in. But you need to hear her out." Leo said.

"Fine. I'll hear her out. But I can't promise I won't blow her up." Piper said with a smirk.

"Just try not to, okay honey?" Leo said with a smile.

"Piper! You'd better get down here!" Paige's voice sounded from downstairs.

"That doesn't sound good, does it?" Piper remarked. "Why did I ever think we could just have a normal family brunch?"

xxx


	3. Chapter 3

The Closing Chapter 3

Xxx

Billie had run for what seemed like miles and soon found herself in a small park. She wiped the tears from her eyes and sat down on a bench near a fountain. The park was very peaceful and quiet, nobody else was there. She stared at the flowing water as the words Piper had said ran through her head over and over.

"_That girl tried to kill us. She betrayed us after we took her in and trusted her. How could you do that, Billie? After everything we have done for you?"_

"Is this seat taken?" A familiar voice sounded next to her.

Billie looked up to see Phoebe standing next to her.

"Phoebe, what are you doing here? Piper said..." Billie began.

"Piper doesn't make my decisions for me, Billie." Phoebe said as she sat down.

"So why did you follow me?" Billie asked.

"I don't know. A lot has happened between us, Billie, but I still care about you." Phoebe said.

"After everything that I've done?" Billie asked.

"You're not the only one who's made mistakes, you know." Phoebe said.

"But my mistakes are a little bigger than most people's." Billie said. "I've betrayed the best friends I ever had. I tried to kill you."

"Because you wanted your sister back." Phoebe said.

"Yeah. But how could I have been so stupid. How could I not see what she really was?" Billie asked.

"Because you didn't want to see it, Billie. You were blinded by your love for your sister." Phoebe explained. "I know what that's like. I followed Cole to the underworld because I didn't want to see what he had really become."

Billie didn't know what to say and stared into the water. Phoebe looked at the young woman and placed a hand on hers. Billie felt the warmth of Phoebe's hand and broke down in tears.

"Oh sweetie." Phoebe said with tears in her eyes.

She let go of Billie's hand and pulled her in for a tight hug. Billie placed her head against Phoebe's shoulder and cried hysterically. Phoebe could barely hold her own tears, she could only image what pain Billie must be feeling.

Unknown to both the witches, a couple of swirling white orbs descended down upon them. Phoebe let out a gasp as the orbs entered her body and briefly engulfed her in a white light. From that moment on, Phoebe could do more than image the pain Billie was in, she could feel it. Everything Billie was feeling, Phoebe could feel as well. The pain, the sorrow, the anger and confusion. It was too much to handle. Phoebe started to cry as well. She knew what had just happened. Though she didn't understand how or why, she had just got her power of empathy back.

Phoebe wished she could help Billie, take this awful feeling away from her. Then she realized that maybe she could. Maybe she could take Billie's pain away, just like Coop had removed the block from her heart and opened it to love again. She closed her eyes and focused, this had to be the reason why she received her power back, to help Billie!

Phoebe started to glow in a soft pink light that expanded to Billie. The negative emotions were expelled from the girl's body like a dark cloud that evaporated in the air. As the pink light faded away both Billie and Phoebe let out a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Billie asked surprised as Phoebe let go of her.

"How do you feel?" Phoebe asked.

"I feel better, but I don't understand." Billie asked. "You did something, didn't you?"

"I did, I still don't understand how, but I think I just got back my power of empathy." Phoebe said.

"It's like all the bad feelings just poured away." Billie said. "The memories are still there, and I remember the feelings, but I don't really feel them anymore."

"So do you feel better?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know." Billie said. "It feels like I cheated. Like I just took the cheap way out instead of truly dealing with my feelings."

"You didn't cheat, Billie." Phoebe said. "I felt what you felt, you have had enough pain. It's time to move on. You must still deal with what you have done and try to make amends, but you don't need to carry around that pain anymore."

"Thank you, Phoebe." Billie said while wiping away her tears.

"You're welcome." Phoebe said with a smile.

"I need to tell you something." Billie said. "The reason why I came today."

"Okay, so tell me." Phoebe said.

"It's Christy." Billie said. "I don't think she is really gone."

"What do you mean?" Phoebe said confused. "We saw what happened to her, she took her own life."

"You mean I killed her." Billie said.

"No, she is the one that threw the fireball, Billie, you were just defending yourself." Phoebe said.

"That doesn't change anything, Phoebe. Killing someone in self-defense is still killing someone. And I killed my own sister." Billie said.

"But why do you think she's still around?" Phoebe asked.

"She came to see me." Billie said.

"Wait, you saw her?" Phoebe asked. "What do you mean?"

"She just appeared in my dorm room out of nowhere." Billie said.

"Do you think she's a ghost? That her spirit is trapped somehow?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know what she is. Only that she still wants to kill you." Billie said.

Upon hearing that, Phoebe remained quiet for a moment. Billie looked at her and knew what she was thinking. She knew what question was coming.

"Billie, why did she come to you?" Phoebe finally asked.

"I think you know, Phoebe. I can see it in your eyes." Billie said.

"I am sorry Billie, I just needed to ask it." Phoebe said.

"I understand, I would have doubts too." Billie said. "She wanted me to join her. She said we could still fulfill our so-called destiny."

"The destiny that the Triad made up, to kill us." Phoebe added.

"Yes." Billie replied. "Christy will never give up. The triad still has her brainwashed."

"Do you know what she is planning?" Phoebe asked.

"No, I don't." Billie said. "She knew I wouldn't join her, so she wouldn't tell me. She said I would find out eventually."

"We need to go to my sisters. Tell them about Christy." Phoebe said.

"I know." Billie said unwillingly.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't really have a choice. Christy is my sister and I have to help you stop her. It's the only way I can begin making things up to you." Billie said.

"I understand. We should hurry." Phoebe said.

Both witches got up and headed back to the manor together. As soon as they left, Christ appeared out of nowhere next to the fountain. An evil smile formed on her lips as she watched Phoebe and Billie leave.

Xxx

"How dare you show your face here again?" were Piper's first words as she headed down the stairs and saw Odin and the other Elders standing in her dining room.

Odin was the elder that had tried to take Leo from his family years ago, when Leo was torn between remaining an Elder or returning to his family. In order to test him, the Elders stripped him of his memory and sent him somewhere to find his true nature. However, Odin cheated and tricked Leo into choosing being an Elder. If wasn't for a dying Piper calling out to him, Leo would have never even remembered his family. Odin's deceit had caused the fragile relationship between the sisters and the Elders to fall even further apart. Piper hated the man for everything he had done, and the feeling was mutual.

Leo followed Piper down the stairs.

"Odin. What are you doing here?" Leo asked cautious but politely.

"Leo, it is good to see you." One of the other Elders said. He had the appearance of a young man, about 25 years old, with dark brown hair and green eyes.

"Good to see you as well, Noah." Leo replied with a smile.

Noah had been a whitelighter that had been promoted to Elder during the time Leo was an Elder as well. Leo had personally trained him and had been a close friend during this time.

Odin cleared his throat in order to get attention.

"Can we get down to business?" Odin said.

"What business?" Paige asked.

"No, there is no business we need to get down to. We're done, we fulfilled our destiny." Piper said.

"Henry, Coop, why don't you take the boys to the kitchen for a while." Paige suddenly suggested, feeling the situation could get very bad.

"Good idea." Coop said.

The two men picked up the boys and headed for the kitchen.

"You may have fulfilled our destiny, but there is still the mess you left behind." Odin said.

"What mess?" Piper asked.

"You may not realize it, but your selfishness has cost us dearly this last year." Odin said.

"Wait a minute. How dare you come into our home and talk to us like that? Who do you think you are?" Piper angrily said.

"I am an Elder. We are and always will be your superior, witch. I would advise you to remember that." Odin said threatening.

"Okay, that's it. You have three seconds to get out of my house before I blow you back up there myself." Piper almost yelled.

"Piper.." Leo said, trying to calm his wife.

"No, I am sick of this. We fought the Ultimate battle, we're done." Piper said.

"No matter what damage you left behind?" Odin asked.

"Wait a minute, this is about Magic school isn't it?" Paige asked.

"Finally, one of you uses her brain for once." Odin said.

"How is what happened to Magic school our fault?" Piper asked.

"By selfishly faking your deaths to escape your destiny, Magic school was left unprotected, allowing evil to take over." Odin said.

"So it's all our fault?" Piper asked. "And where were you during all of this? Better yet, where were you during the Ultimate battle, when the entire magical community turned on us?"

"Don't turn this around on us. You are the ones responsible for this entire thing." Odin said.

"So what do you want us to do about it?" Paige asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Odin asked. "We want you to reclaim Magic school once and for all."

"But Magic school is filled with demons. We're not even sure if the sisters can reclaim is back so easily." Leo said.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to found a new school?" Paige asked.

"You are talking about giving up on a magical institute that has trained magical beings for thousands of years. And you just want to give it up and start over?" The other, unknown Elder asked.

"Well, when you put it like that." Paige said.

"Why don't you just reclaim it yourselves?" Piper asked.

"We tried." Noah said. "And failed miserably. A very large tribe of demons have claimed the school as their territory after the Ultimate battle. They outnumbered us."

"So much for the superior Elders." Piper remarked.

"Look, this isn't a negotiation." Odin angrily said. "You will reclaim Magic school for us."

"Why would we do that?" Piper asked.

"Because you do not want the Elders to be your enemy. You of all people should know that we can make your life very difficult." Odin said.

"Odin, what are you doing, are we making threats now?" Noah asked surprised.

"Be quiet, you rookie." Odin sneered.

"You know, every time I think you Elders have hit rock bottom, you just have prove me wrong." Piper said. "Don't you ever come into my house again and threaten my family."

Odin and Piper stared each other down, until Odin gave in.

"This conversation isn't over." He simply said and orbed out.

The other, unknown Elder instantly followed him, but Noah remained.

"I apologize for the way Odin treated you." Noah said. "He can be… difficult."

"That's one way of putting it." Paige said.

"Look, I know you have every right to hate the Elders after everything that has happened. But forget about us, this really isn't about us." Noah said.

"It's about the entire magical community. They need Magic school." Leo added.

"But if this demonic tribe is as powerful as you say, how can you be sure we can defeat it?" Paige asked.

"You are still the Charmed Ones, the most powerful force of good, destiny or not." Noah said. "if anyone can do it, you can."

"That is all very great and all, but you still haven't answered one of my questions." Piper said.

"What question was that?" Noah asked.

"Where were you during the Ultimate battle, when everyone turned on us?" Piper repeated her questions.

Noah hesitated for a while.

"Several Elders, mostly the ones of the older generation, felt that it didn't concern us. That is was between you and the Ultimate power. We younger Elders wanted to intervene, but we have fewer and have less influence." Noah explained.

"Let me guess, Odin was in charge of the opposing party?" Piper asked.

"Piper, we are aware of your history with Odin and that your relationship is unfriendly, to put it politely. Most of us felt he was too involved to make a rational decision, but Odin is very powerful among the Elders." Noah said.

"Sounds like something needs to change up there." Paige remarked.

"Trust me, we're working on that." Noah said with a nod.

"Really?" Paige said with an amused smile. "Go younger Elders."

"So let's get back to this whole Magic school thing." Piper said. "What is the worst thing that could happen?"

"Well, Magic school was created to keep untrained magic in check. If we don't find a way to restore it, we could have an Atlantis situation all over again. This could mean massive destruction, thousands of deaths and the exposure of magic." Noah explained.

"Wow, you really go straight for the worst case scenario, don't you?" Paige remarked.

"So I guess we really don't have a choice, do we?" Piper said.

"You always have a choice, Piper. I just hope you make the right one, for the right reasons." Noah said. "I should really get going or else they'll wonder what's taking me. Leo, I hope we meet again under better circumstances."

"Me too." Leo said. "Take care."

Noah was about to orb out, but was stopped by Piper.

"Noah, wait." She said. "Tell them we'll do it, but not for them."

"Piper, are you sure?" Paige asked.

"Yes, I am. Noah is right. This isn't about us or the Elders. It's about the future of magic, the future of our kids." Piper said.

"Thank you, Piper." Noah said and orbed out.

Xxx

Phoebe and Billie walked up the stairs in front of the Halliwell manor. Witch each step, Billie's shoes grew heavier. When they reached the front door, Billie stopped. Phoebe turned and looked at her.

"I need a moment." Billie said.

"Don't be afraid Billie. Piper is hurt and she is angry, but she doesn't hate you. None of us do. You have nothing to be afraid of." Phoebe said.

"Okay, I can do this." Billie said.

"I know you can. Just be strong." Phoebe said.

She took out her key and opened the front door. She held the door open for Billie and guided her in. Phoebe closed the door behind them and took of her coat. Leo came walked into the foyer.

"Hey Leo, where are Piper and Paige?" Phoebe asked.

"They are up in the attic. Why is Billie here?" Leo asked surprised. "I mean, of course you are welcome." He later added.

Billie gave him a quick smile. She was glad he didn't feel the same way as Piper. He had always been a good friend and teacher.

"I brought Billie back because she told me something very important. And Piper and Paige really need to hear this." Phoebe said. "Why are they in the attic?"

"Something has happened..." Leo said.

"Oh my god, was it Christy?" Billie blurted out before Leo could continue.

"Christy?" Leo asked shocked. "I thought she was.."

"Yes, that's the thing we need to talk about, we're not sure yet." Phoebe said. "So what happened here?"

"I think you'd better go up to the attic and let your sisters tell you." Leo said.

"Okay, let's go, Billie." Phoebe said and headed up the stairs.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Leo asked.

"Of course." Phoebe said. "It will be fine."

Xxx

In the attic, Piper and Paige were gathered around a large round table filled with tiny bottles and various potion ingredients. Paige was going through some jars while Piper was stirring through a black pot. The Book of Shadows was lying on the table next to it.

"I sure wish we knew what kind of demon we're dealing with." Paige said.

"Probably just the generic kind." Piper said while reading a page from the book. "Could you hand me the Hemlock root? And careful, it's very explosive."

Paige searched the table for the hemlock root and handed it to Piper.

At that moment, Phoebe came waling in.

"Hey guys, guess who I brought." She said cheerfully.

Paige and Piper both looked up. Upon seeing Billie enter the attic, Piper dropped the hemlock root in the black pot, causing it to explode. Piper and Paige were both thrown away from the table in opposite directions. The Book of Shadows and the other stuff on the table were also blasted. The book protected itself and landed near Billie.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Phoebe yelled.

She hesitated, unsure of which sister to run to first. She decided to go for Paige. Luckily she had landed on a pile of boxes and was unharmed. Phoebe helped her up.

"Oh, that hurt." Paige said.

"Piper, are you okay?" Phoebe asked.

Piper had been less fortunate that Paige and had crashed into a small wooden table, which was now broken. She had a deep cut in her arm.

"Here, let me heal that." Paige said and walked over to Piper. She placed her hand over Piper's cut and started to heal it with a golden light emitting from her hands.

Meanwhile, Billie walked over the Book of Shadows and picked it up.

"Piper, I'm sorry for startling you." Billie said as she placed the book back on the table.

Piper stared at the book. It had let Billie pick it up, meaning it didn't saw Billie as evil or as a threat. She herself wasn't sure what to think of Billie. She remembers what she had promised Leo, to at least hear her out. Meanwhile Paige and finished healing her and helped her up.

"So I guess we have a lot to talk about." Piper said.

"Yeah." Billie said nervously.

xxx


	4. Chapter 4

The Closing Chapter 4

Xxx

"Are you telling me that Christy is back? How is that possible? We saw you vanquish her." Piper said after Billie finished her story.

"I don't know, I mean, yeah she's back, but I don't know how." Billie said.

"And how do we know this isn't some trap you two set up?" Piper asked.

"Oh.. Piper, please!" Phoebe calls out.

"What? Excuse me for being a little suspicious." Piper said.

"If Billie was working with Christy, do you really think she would come here and tell us?" Paige asked.

"So you believe her story?" Piper asked.

"Yes, I do." Paige said.

"And what about you?" Piper asked Phoebe.

"I sensed her feelings when I got my empathy back, everything she could feel I felt as well. She is telling us the truth." Phoebe said.

Upon hearing and seeing the trust her sisters still had in Billie, Piper realized her own feelings were clouding her judgment. The anger and betrayal she felt didn't allow her to see Billie as anything other than evil. In her heart Piper knew Billie wasn't evil, but getting past what she had done was almost too hard. But Piper realized that if they wanted to work this out, she needed to put her issues with Billie aside for now.

"I'm sorry, Billie." Piper said, though the words didn't come out easily.

""You don't have to apologize, Piper."Billie said. "I know where you are coming from and that you may never trust me again. But I came to you to warn you. Christy is planning her revenge. And we have to stop her."

"Are you sure you are up for this?" Paige asked "I mean facing her again?"

"I have to. All of this is my responsibility. If only I had seen the truth behind her sooner." Billie said. "She is my sister, and I have to stop her."

Piper looked at the young girl and for the first time saw something of the old Billie again, her bravery.

"So now that we all agree, what are we going to do?" Paige asked.

"Well, if we want to stop Christy, I think the first thing we need to figure out what she is." Phoebe said.

"Good point, but what is she?" Paige asked.

"She could be a ghost." Billie said.

"Or a zombie." Phoebe suggested.

"No, she didn't look zombie-like. She looked normal, like she was alive." Billie said.

"Well, aren't ghosts usually transparent?" Paige asked.

"No, ghosts can appear in a lot of ways, some looks like ordinary people." Piper said as she thought back of Mark, the ghost she had met nearly nine years earlier.

"Are we even sure it was really Christy?" Phoebe suddenly asked. "Are you sure it wasn't some shapeshifter or illusion or something?"

"No, it was defiantly Christy. I'm sure of it." Billie said.

"It could be an astral projection. After all, Christy was a powerful telepath." Paige said.

"Maybe, but it could also be that the triad taught her some of their tricks, like being able to exist in spirit form after their bodies are vanquished." Piper said.

"But we destroyed that weird platform-thingy." Paige said.

"There could be another one."Phoebe suggested.

"Which means we have to go back to Magic school." Paige said.

"Yes, and isn't it a very big coincidence that the Elders just happen to pick today to ask us to reclaim Magic school?" Piper said.

"Do you think they know about Christy?" Billie asked.

"I doubt it." Paige said. "The Elders weren't that well informed the first time around."

"Okay, let's get back to Christy here for a second, we can worry about Magic school and the Elders later. We still don't know what she is or how to vanquish her." Piper said.

When Piper said that, both Paige and Phoebe looked at Billie, who was staring at the ground.

"We are going to vanquish her, aren't we?" Piper asked. "No matter what she is now, it's clear that the last part of her humanity is gone now."

"Piper is right." Billie said. "The Christy that faced me was so cold, she didn't seem human anymore."

"Sweetie, are you sure about this?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes. I just have to accept that the sister I once had is gone. Whatever the triad made her, it's not Christy anymore." Billie said determined.

"Then what's the plan?" Paige asked.

"Well, if Christy really is bound to one of those platforms the triad used, it has to be in Magic School." Piper said.

"Which means we have to clear out the demons first." Phoebe adds.

"And that means we'll a lot of potions." Piper said. "So what if Paige and I started working on the potions, Phoebe you try to think of some spells to help us out, and Billie…"

"I'll hit the Book and try to find out more about Christy." Billie said before Piper could finish.

"Okay." Piper said after a moment of silence. "Let's get started then."

Xxx

Meanwhile, at Magic school, a tribe of demons was gathered in the library. They appeared to be a tribe of low-leveled young demons, all dressed in brown leather. Each of them also wore a tribal-like symbol on their foreheads.

In the middle of the room lay another demon, she was also dressed in leather and had strange markings on her face, but she was clearly not a member of this tribe. She was a Fury, a vengeance demon that hunted wrong-doers, like Piper had become shortly after Prue had died.

The leader of the demon tribe, a seemingly young man with black hair and dark eyes stepped forward. He wore a large necklace made of bones, probably as a symbol of his leadership.

"We have waited a long time for this, my friends. After centuries of being seen like low-life trash, the underworld will finally give us the respect we deserve when we permanently claim Magic school as our territory." The leader said.

His speech caused cheering and excited shouting from his tribe.

"With this final sacrifice, our territory will be marked, and all other demons will have no choice but to finally accept us." The leader continued.

The leader pulled out a curved athame with the same tribal symbols.

"When the blood of this Fury will spill out on this floor, no one will be able to drive us from our new grounds. We will no longer have to bow down to upper level demons. Instead, they will have to bow down to us if they want the power of this school." The leader said.

Again, his tribe cheered and started shouting to kill the Fury. The leader of the tribe smiled and stepped forward to the Fury. The Fury jumped up and tried to slash him with her talons, but her arms were in chains. The Fury screamed in anger.

The leader raised his athame, but before he could plant the blade in her, the Fury screamed and burst out into flames. The Fury's screams continued until she was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

"What the hell just happened?" the tribal leader screamed in anger.

He turned around to see Christy standing there.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here, witch." The leader said.

Several tribal demons held out their hands and conjured up green energy balls. Christy simply glared at them, causing them to all catch fire.

"Stop this!" The leader called out.

Christy closed her eyes and the flames disappeared, leaving the demons a little charred but still alive.

"You didn't come here to fight, what do you want, witch?" the leader said.

"I am not just a witch." Christy said. "I serve directly under the triad."

"The triad are no more, little girl. Why should this mean anything to us?" the leader said.

"The triad lives on in me, I know all their secrets. Secrets that could give you more power than this place could ever bring you." Christy said.

"And why should I believe you?" the leader said.

"Because I am the only one who can save you." Christy said.

The tribal leader started laughing, and soon his entire tribe followed.

"Save us? From what?" he asked mockingly.

"Do you really think the forces of good are just going to give up on this place? They intend to get it back." Christy said.

"Let them come. We don't fear them." The leader said.

"Not even the Charmed Ones?" Christy asked.

This caused some of the tribal demons to start whispering in panic. The Charmed Ones were something no demons had ever defeated.

"Why would the Charmed Ones come here?" the leader asked.

"They were asked to, by the Elders. So you're not just facing the Charmed Ones, but the wrath of the Elders as well." Christy said.

"And what could you do for us?" the leader asked.

"I can stop the Charmed Ones, kill them. I just need you to distract them long enough for me to finish my plan." Christy said.

"So let me get this straight, you will kill the Charmed Ones and give us all the power we want, and in return we just have to distract the Charmed Ones?" The leader said.

"That's right." Christy said.

"How stupid do you think we are? We can't hold off the Charmed Ones for long. Do you know how many of my people will be killed?" the leader angrily asked her.

"I don't care, and neither should you. What are a few sacrifices for unlimited power?" Christy coldly said.

"And what do you get out of all of this?" the leader asked.

"A chance to fulfill my destiny, and then there is a little thing called revenge." Christy said.

"I need to think about this." The leader said.

"Then you had better think fast, the Charmed Ones are making preparations as we speak. They will be here soon." Christy said. "You only have so many options. Side with me, flee or be vanquished by the Charmed Ones!"

"Then I guess we have a deal." The tribal leader said.

"Smart choice." Christy said.

The tribal leader instantly started shouting orders at his tribe while Christy watched on with a smile. Soon she would have her revenge against the sisters and ultimate power.

Xxx

Phoebe was sitting on her old bed in her old room with a notebook on her lap. She was trying to think of some new useful spells but kept losing her concentration. With a sigh she dropped her pen and looked around her old room. The room that she had slept nearly her entire life in was almost unrecognizable. Half the room was covered in plastic while two walls were painted in a soft green. Piper and Leo were in the middle of converting her room into Wyatt's new room.

Despite the many changes Phoebe could still see some of the things that made the room hers, like the scorch mark by the window from one of her cigarettes as a teenager. She used to hide it from Grams with a picture frame of Prue, Piper and her at the park, taken before she and Prue started hating each other.

Sadness fell over Phoebe when she thought about Prue. She couldn't believe that had been nearly six years since she died. She still missed her big sister every day.

"Phoebe?" A familiar voice sounded from the hallway.

"In here." Phoebe called.

A few second later Coop entered the bedroom.

"How are you doing?" Coop asked as he sat down next to her.

"I'm okay, I'm just having trouble focusing." Phoebe said.

"I didn't mean with the spells, I meant in general." Coop said.

"I know what you meant and really, I'm fine." Phoebe said.

"Look, I know you got your empathy back and I know what you did for Billie." Coop said. "Using your power like that, it can be really straining."

"It was, I almost couldn't take all of that raw emotion." Phoebe said. "But it's over now and I'm glad I was able to help her. Nobody should have to feel that pain."

"I know." Coop said and pulled her in for a hug. "A charge is calling out to me, but I can stay here if you like."

"No, you should go." Phoebe said. "They need you."

"I can send someone else. With everything that is going on here…" Coop said.

"It's nothing we haven't faced before, don't worry about it." Phoebe said.

"How could I not?" Coop asked.

Coop leaned in to kiss her and Phoebe kissed him back, but the moment their lips touched she was pulled into a premonition. Suddenly Phoebe was standing in a hospital room and was looking at herself lying in bed. She knew that she had been astral projected into her premonition, like she had been when she had gotten a glimpse of her future daughter.

The door opened and Coop came walking in, holding a small bundle of blankets in his arms. He looked so happy and proud. Phoebe could hear a baby crying. She looked at her future self, who was crying tears of happiness as the bundle was placing in her arms. Phoebe walked closer and looked at her future daughter. She was so small and beautiful. She looked perfect. Tears welled up in Phoebe's eyes. Her future self looked up at her and smiled.

"She is perfect isn't she?" her future self asked. "Little Prue."

"Prue?" Phoebe asked in tears. She had thought about naming her daughter that ever since she first found out she was coming.

Phoebe reached out to touch her daughter, but felt she was slipping out of her premonition.

"No!" Phoebe called out.

"Don't worry." Her future self said. "You can already feel her, can't you?"

Then Phoebe was back in the present, with a worried Coop looking at her. Phoebe gasped and instantly reached for her stomach. Could it really be true?

"Phoebe, what's wrong? What did you see?" Coop asked.

"Nothing is wrong. Everything is perfect." Phoebe said crying.

"What do you mean?" Coop asked.

"I saw her, Coop. I saw our daughter." Phoebe said and she took his hand and placed in on her stomach.

It took Coop a few second to realize what she was talking about, but then suddenly started to glow.

"Really? You're pregnant?" He asked with tears welling up in his eyes.

"I am." Phoebe said.

"I love you." Coop said and kissed her passionately.

"You should go, Coop. Your charge needs you. We are not going anywhere." Phoebe said after Coop stopped kissing her.

"I don't want to leave you, either of you, ever again." Coop said smiling.

"We will have all the time of world. But now we both have work to do." Phoebe said.

"You're right." Coop said.

He kissed her one final time before teleporting out. Phoebe smiled and gently rubbed her stomach. Everything would be perfect, when she could hold little Prue in her arms.

Xxx

Meanwhile, downstairs in the kitchen, Piper and Paige were standing by the counter. While Piper was throwing ingredients in a pan out of memory, Paige was filling a bunch of small potion bottles with already finished vanquishing potions.

"Are you sure these potions will be strong enough? We have no idea what we'll be facing." Paige asked.

"Well, I doubt anything could survive these potions, they're the strongest ones we've got." Piper said.

"Still, I'd feel better if we knew what we were facing. The thought of having Christy back sends a chill down my spine." Paige said.

"I know what you mean. One of the most powerful witches ever, raised by demons to hate our guts." Piper said. "Not exactly a good combination."

"Yeah, but it's more than that." Paige said. "Working her way into our lives, twisting everything, turning her sister and the whole magical community against us…"

"It was all planned from the very beginning. I don't think it was even a coincidence that Billie came into our lives." Piper said.

"But she didn't know back then." Paige said.

"None of us could know, we were all played by the triad like pawns." Piper said.

"Feels like we still are, we have no idea what Christy is planning." Paige said.

"Well, I think we can be sure that she wants us dead." Piper said.

"At least she doesn't have Billie on her side anymore, so no Ultimate power for that little witch." Paige said.

Piper didn't respond and instead continued to brew her potion. She didn't know what to think anymore. She wanted to believe she could trust Billie, but no matter how she tried to convince herself, a shred of doubt always remained.

"Do you believe Billie is on our side, right?" Paige asked, sensing her sister's doubt.

"I want to, Paige. I do, but I just can't say for sure." Piper explained.

"It is going to take a while for that trust to grow back completely, no one can blame you for that." Paige said. "I think you and Billie have already made some great progress getting past this."

"Yeah, thanks to Leo mostly." Piper said. "But before we can go any further, we need to deal with Christy."

"Speaking about Leo, where are the guys anyway?" Paige asked.

"Leo and Henry took the boys to your apartment just in case anything goes wrong. I have no idea where Coop is but I'm sure Phoebe does." Piper answered.

"Good, at least they will be safe." Paige said.

"I'm sorry, Paige, I should have told you earlier. Now you didn't get to say goodbye." Piper said.

"That's alright. I'm pretty confident we'll live through this." Paige said with half a smile.

"Yeah, I hope so." Piper said somewhat doubtful.

Piper picked up the last ingredient and dropped it in the pot, causing a small explosion.

Xxx

Billie was sitting on the couch in the attic staring blankly at the pages of the Book of Shadows. After going through the book several times she still hadn't found anything about Christy. She sighed and tossed the book aside before getting up. She was halfway to the stairs when a sudden gust of wind went past her and flipped open the book of Shadows again.

Billie went back to the book and picked it up, it had opened on a page which contained a power stripping potion. Billie sat back down and looked at the page. She wondered what had caused the wind and what it was trying to tell her. The sisters had once told her that their Grams would sometimes give them advice the same way, but this couldn't have been her, right?

Maybe she was supposed to use this potion on Christy, taking away her powers would probably end the immediate threat, but would it really solve anything? Christy would still be obsessed with her co-called destiny and her revenge. She would still be dangerous to everyone.

No matter what the reason for this potion was, Billie figured it could do no harm, so she quickly started gathering the ingredients and got to work.

Sometime later, Billie hid the power stripping potion in her back pocket and went down the stairs. Piper, Phoebe and Paige were already waiting for her in the lobby. She decided not to tell them about the potion until she knew its purpose, telling them that she was taking advice from a gust of wind didn't seems like a good idea now that they were finally starting to trust her again. The four witches exchanged potions and spells.

It felt like old times again standing with the sisters, ready to vanquish evil. It just broke Billie's heart that the evil in question was her own sister. She had to be brave, she had made her choice, just like Christy had.

"Are you ready for this?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, let's just get this over with." Billie said.

With that said, Paige took everyone's hands and orbed them to Magic School.


	5. Chapter 5

The Closing Chapter 5

Xxx

Magic School seemed deserted, the main hall was empty and quiet. The toll that the demons had taken on the school was clearly visible, the once grant and beautiful hall had decayed to a crack house. Everywhere there was broken furniture, torn up books and scorch marks of fire and energy balls. Ever since the magical defenses around the school had fallen, it had become a war zone for rivaling demons wanting its power and secrets.

A trail of orbs descended down from the ceiling and took the shape of the Halliwell sisters and Billie. As soon as they were fully materialized they ducked down and quietly looked for cover behind a tilted desk.

"Do you see anything?" Phoebe whispered.

"No, this place seems deserted." Paige said back softly as she glanced over the desk.

"Be careful, it could a trap." Piper whispered.

"So what is the plan?" Billie asked.

"Well, we vanquish everything we can find." Piper whispered.

"And how are we going to find them?" Paige asked. "Marco Polo is out of the question, since that would kinda ruin the whole element of surprise thing."

"What makes you think this will be a surprise?" Piper asked. "If Christy really is here, she knows we're coming."

"Guys, keep it down. We don't have to lead them straight to us." Phoebe whispered.

"So how will we find them?" Paige asked.

"I can help with that." Phoebe said and pulled out a piece of paper out of her jeans pocket.

She unfolded it on the floor and revealed a badly drawn map of Magic school.

"Did you make that yourself?" Piper remarked.

"Don't even start, it will do." Phoebe said.

"Do what?" Billie asked.

"Just watch." Phoebe said and revealed a small bottle of white powder. She opened the bottle on held it above the map. Then she pulled out another piece of paper and started whispering a spell.

"_On this map, I conjure thee, show me what I wish to see, reveal the evil in this place, let it show its ugly face."_

As she chanted the spell she sprinkled the powder out over the map. At first nothing happened, but then small red lights started appearing all over the map.

"Are those demons?" Billie asked about the red lights.

"Yes. Now we can see exactly where they are." Phoebe whispered.

"Well, the good news is we won't have to look far." Piper said in a serious tone as she pointed at the map.

Everyone looked on the map and noticing that most of the lights were lined up in a large circle, surrounding them.

"Okay, so we can now assume that this is indeed a trap." Paige said.

"Wait, there is something odd on the map." Billie said. "Look!"

She pointed to a large red light that was fading in and out and was further away from the others.

"Isn't that the room where that weird platform thing was?" Paige asked.

"Yes." Piper said. "Which means it has to be Christy."

"Good, then I know where I'm headed." Billie said and quickly got up.

"Are you crazy?" Piper called out and pulled her back down just in time, as two green energy balls barely missed her.

"They're here! We found them." A demon called out.

Paige peeked over the desk to see two of the tribal demons standing the main corridor. As soon as they saw her they both threw another energy ball at her. Paige quickly waved her hand and called out the energy balls, telekinetically orbing them back and vanquishing the demons on the spot.

"Two down and countless more to go." Paige said.

"We need to move now!" Piper said with her eye on the map.

Every single red spot on the map was now quickly moving in their direction. The witches jumped up and started running down one of the corridors.

A group of demons suddenly busted out of a side door and threw energy balls at them.

"Stand back." Phoebe said as she stepped forward.

She closed her eyes and focused, calling out her power of empathy to channel the emotions of the demons. Right before the energy balls hit her, she raised her hands, blocking them all mid-air. She then opened her eyes and pushed her hands forward, sending the energy balls back at the demons with an angry scream.

Most demons were vanquished by the reflected energy balls, but some managed to duck aside. Piper stepped forward and blew two of them up with a flick of her hands while Billie send a third one flying across the hall with her telekinesis. He crashed into a medieval armor and was vanquished when he was impaled by the ax it was holding.

"Okay, keep moving." Piper said.

They kept running down the corridor and fled into one of the room when they heard the demons coming closer. Piper closed the door behind them and peeked through the keyhole. She saw the demons passing them and relaxed.

"They're gone, for now." Piper said.

"How are we going to vanquish all those demons?" Paige asked while catching her breath.

"We need something to distract them." Piper said.

"Well you guys can take care of that, I need to find Christy." Billie said.

"No, we shouldn't split up." Piper said, _especially not you, _slipped into her mind right after.

"Piper is right, we can only take on these demons if we fight them together." Paige said.

"Actually, I think Billie may have a good point." Phoebe said. "We need to deal with Christy as soon as possible, but the demons are on our way."

"But Phoebe.." Piper started.

"We need to trust Billie now, Piper." Phoebe said, sensing her sister's hesitation. "I think she is the only one who can deal with Christy."

"Thanks Phoebe." Billie said with a smile.

"Okay, so Billie goes after Christy and we deal with the demons first." Paige summed up. "But we still need a distraction."

"I already thought about that." Phoebe said. "Since I knew this fight would take place in Magic School I decided to use its history to our advantage."

"What do you have in mind?" Piper asked suspicious.

Xxx

Meanwhile, in the grand hall, the tribal leader of the demons had surrounded himself with a group of his strongest and most faithful demons. He walked around and spotted the map Phoebe had used the spell on.

"What is this?" he said and he picked it up.

He stared at the map and then realized its purpose. "Smart witches, but this kind of magic can work both ways." He said. He closed his eyes and whispered in a strange, mysterious language.

The red lights on the map started to disappear and instead four green lights appeared in their place.

"Found you." The tribal leader said with a smile.

His pleasure soon turned to confusion when suddenly a fifth light appeared on the map, moving toward them at high speed. As it drew closed, the demons could hear a strange galloping sound getting louder.

"What is that?" one of the demons asked.

"Sounds like a horse." Another replied.

At the end of the hallway, a horseman suddenly appeared. He rode a demonic looking black horse and was dressed in a black cape. The most disturbing thing was that the horseman was headless.

The horsemen pulled out his sword and his horse reared high on his hind legs, loudly neighing. The horsemen then pointed his sword towards the demons and his horse charged at them.

"What the hell is that thing?" one of the demons yelled in panic and they all backed up in fear.

"Ignore it, it must a distraction, an illusion of sorts." Their leader called out unsure.

The horseman charged at the demons and swung his sword as he reached the first one. The horseman sliced his head straight off and the demon's body was vanquished as his head rolled down on the floor before going up in flames as well.

Another demon panicked and threw and energy ball, which the horseman deflected with his sword. Many of the demons cowered in fear and started running for their lives.

"You fools, where are you going?" their leader screamed in anger.

The horseman continued to vanquish two more fleeing demons before turning his attention of the tribal leader.

"Oh crap." The leader said as the saw the horseman charge at him.

Right before the horseman's sword could reach his neck, the tribal leader quickly shimmered away. The horseman angrily swung his sword and then turned to pursue the fleeing demons.

Xxx

Back in another part of Magic school, a search party of demons was trashing one of the class rooms, searching for the sisters. Suddenly Paige orbed in the middle of the room.

"Hi, guys. Bet you can't catch me." She cheerfully said before orbing out again.

"Kill her!" One of the demons yelled.

The demons stormed out the class room into the corridor, where Piper and Phoebe were waiting for them with potions ready. The demons screamed as they were vanquished in a fiery explosion. One demon that had remained in the class room stepped back and charged an energy ball in his hand. Unknown to him, Paige orbed back in behind him.

"Energy ball!" she called out as she raised her hand.

The energy ball disappeared in a swirl of robs and reappeared in her hands. The demon quickly swung around with surprise in his face as Paige threw the energy ball at him, vanquishing him like his friends.

"That takes care of them." Paige said as Piper and Phoebe entered the classroom.

"This isn't working, they're spread out to thin. It will take forever to hunt them all down." Piper said.

"Yeah, the horseman gave them quite the spook." Paige said. "Nice thinking by the way."

"Thanks." Phoebe said. "To bad his time is almost up, the conjuring spell was only meant to last a short period of time."

"Thank god, the last thing we need is the headless horseman terrorizing this place again." Piper remarked.

"Good point. I like my head where it is." Paige said.

"But how are we going to track down the remaining demons? We lost the map." Phoebe said.

"Then we need to find the leader. They'll gather around him." Piper said.

"Maybe we should stop looking for the demons and let them find us." Paige suggested.

"And what if there are too many left to fight off?" Phoebe asked.

"Easy." Piper said confidently. "We trust in the power of three."

Xxx

In the platform room, Christy was staring at the empty platform that once held the spirits of the Triad. They had trained her well, taught her everything they knew and she was grateful that they had led her to her destiny. But then they betrayed her in the end by killing her parents. It was something she could never forgive them for. That is why they had to be killed, they had fulfilled their roles, and now she was going to finish their plan.

The tribal leader shimmered in behind her.

"The Charmed Ones are here." He said.

"I know." Christy said calmly.

"You know!" the demons called out. "Do you also know that my men are getting killed out there? How about you do something?"

"Ï don't care about your men, idiot." Christy said as she turned around and faced him. "We had a deal, you distract the Charmed Ones to matter what. I will deal with them when I'm ready."

"How long will that take?" the demon asked.

"Not long, their final moment in getting closer step by step." Christy said.

"So what's the big plan, huh?" the demon asked. "Why don't you fill me in on?"

"I don't owe you an explanation." Christy said. "You just stick to your part of the deal and I'll give you what you want when it is over."

"It had better be worth it, witch. I'm down half my tribe already." The demon said.

"It will be. Now get lost, I need to have a little talk with my sister." Christy said with a cold smile.

The tribal leader shimmered away and Christy turned to the platform again. It was almost time, Billie was getting closer. Soon she would fulfill her destiny.

The last bit of her humanity wished that Billie had stood by her side and still even had some love for her. But that was just a small part of her. During her time with the Triad, she had learned to seal away that little bit of humanity she had left. Though she had always been human, she felt more like a demon then she had ever felt human.

Xxx

Billie sneaked through the deserted corridor, careful not to make a sound. She could easily take a few demons if they spotted her, but she couldn't use the distraction. Her attention needed to be focused on Christy now. She still had no idea how she was going to deal with her, however.

If Christy really was some kind of spirit like the Triad, destroying the platform would sever her connection to this realm. She would probably be send to some kind of Limbo because even though she was evil, her soul was still human.

Billie wondered what Christy's end game was, or if she even had one. All she seemed to care about was killing the sisters, no matter what. But Christy would know a tribe of demons like this wouldn't be enough, what was she really up to?

The halls Billie was walking looked familiar, she was getting close to the platform room. This was it, she needed to be strong, from now one anything could happen. Billie felt the power stripping potion in her back pocket, she still hadn't figured out its exact purpose, but she knew that it would help somehow.

Billie neared the door to the platform room, she could feel chills running down her spine. Her hand reached for the door handle and let out a sigh before opening the door.

The room was completely black, with the platform being the only source of light. Christy was standing in the middle of the room, near the platform.

"I've been waiting for you." Christy said.

"I know." Billie said as she closed the door behind her.

"Come to vanquish me?" Christy asked.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Christy, it's not too late." Billie pleaded.

"Yes it is, Billie, and you know it." Christy said.

"Please…" Billie almost whispered.

"Come on, Billie, it shouldn't be that hard, you already vanquished me once." Christy said.

"It was self defense. You left me no choice." Billie said.

"No, you didn't leave me a choice! You betrayed me! For them!" Christy screamed angrily.

"I did what was right, Christy. The triad used us." Billie said.

"The triad showed us our true destiny, what we were meant for." Christy replied.

"Did they really mess you up so bad that you actually believe that?" Billie asked.

"The triad choose us. Together we are the Ultimate power. We were the only ones." Christy said.

"But there is still right and wrong, Christy, good and evil. Or doesn't that mean anything too you?" Billie asked.

"It has never been about good and evil, why can't you see that? It is about power!" Christy said.

"You're crazy." Billie stated, finally realizing that her sister was truly beyond hope. "This has to end, Christy."

"What are you going to do?" Christy asked with an evil smile.

Billie remained quiet as her hand reached into her pocket to get a potion. Christy wasn't moving, she was just staring at her. Billie stared back at her, but her eyes soon drifted to the platform. If Christy really was tied to the platform, destroying it would end it all.

"Go ahead. Try it." Christy said.

"Reading my mind, are you?" Billie asked.

"I don't need to. You're predictable, Billie." Christy said. "Go ahead, destroy the platform. It might just kill me for good."

"Well, let's see, shall we?" Billie said and she threw the potion.

The potion smashed on the platform, causing a huge explosion. The force of the blast send Billie flying into the wall behind her. The entire room quickly became filled with smoke.

Billie coughed and waved away the smoke with her hand, she slowly got back up on her feet and looked around. As the smoke started to clear, Billie looked at the platform. It had been shattered and the creepy light had died out. Could it really be over?

"Well, that didn't work." Christy said as she stepped out of the smoke, completely unharmed and unimpressed.

"How?" Billie asked shocked.

"Please, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Christy remarked.

Billie quickly reached for another potion and threw it at her sister. The potion flew right through her and broke on the floor behind her.

"What are you?" Billie asked. "Some kind of ghost or spirit?"

"I'm more like an astral echo." Christy said. "I'm a powerful telepath, so strong that my powers kept me alive while my physical body was destroyed."

"What is keeping you on this realm?" Billie asked.

"I won't be around for long, I'm fading away as we speak. But I still have enough time to take the Charmed Ones with me." Christy said.

"I won't let you." Billie said determined.

"You can't stop me, Billie." Christy said.

"Maybe not, but I'll sure try." Billie said.

Billie flung her arm, trying to use her telekinesis on Christy, but it had no effect.

"I'm incorporeal, Billie. You can't hurt me. And your potions are useless." Christy said.

"Looks like there is a little flaw in your plan as well, sis." Billie said. "If you're busy being incorporeal, how will you kill the sisters? You can't hurt them anymore than we can hurt you. And you don't really think that your little group of demons will be enough, do you?"

"Think you got it all figured out?" Christy asked with a smile. "You never were the brightest."

"At least I'm the prettiest." Billie remarked.

"And soon I'll be both." Christy said coldly.

"What do you mean?" Billie asked, scared by her tone.

"You'll see." Christy said with a smile.

Christy suddenly became transparent, glowing in a fiery orange light. This was the true extent of her power, her true astral self. She had become much more than a simple witch, she was ready to fulfill her destiny and nothing was going to stop her. Not even Billie.

Billie stumbled back against the door, but she felt it was locked. There was no way out. She was too scared to think of anything. She couldn't believe what her sister had become.

"You and I will become one, and then I will be the Ultimate power." Christy said.

Her transparent form broke apart in streams of energy that started to surround Billie, who tried in vain to fight them off. Billie screamed as the energy entered her body, taking her over.

xxx


	6. Chapter 6

The Closing Chapter 6

Xxx

Billie woke up and instantly felt a throbbing headache. It took her a while to remember what had happened, but when it all came rushing back to her, she screamed. She tried to get up but felt metal chains on her arms and legs, holding her in her place.

Billie looked around, she was in a dark cave, lit by only a single torch on the wall. The cave had a door, a heavy wooden door with a small barred window. She had to be in the underworld, but how did she got there? Something about the cave seemed familiar, as if she had seen it before.

There was movement outside of her cell.

"Hello?" Billie called out. "Who is there?"

Footsteps were coming closer and Billie hurt the door being unlocked. The door opened and Christy stepped in.

"Christy!" Billie said angrily. "What did you do to me? Where are we?"

"Don't you recognize it?" Christy asked while walking around the small cell. "I sure do."

Billie followed Christy's eyes as she looked around the cell. Suddenly she noticed something written on the wall. There were carvings, drawn with a sharp rock or something. Billie looked closer and noticed that it weren't carvings, it were drawings. She saw a house and trees, a sun and a rainbow, they all looked like they were drawn by a small child.

Then Billie realized where she was. This was it, the cave that Christy had been held captive in for most her life, after the Triad had her kidnapped. Though she had only seen it twice, it was something she could never forget. What were they doing here?

"Christy, why did you bring me here?" Billie asked.

"So you finally know where we are?" Christy asked ignoring Billie's question.

"The cave the Triad kept you in." Billie said. "But why?"

"You don't like the stroll down memory lane?" Christy asked. "This was my home, when you were safe and happy with mom and dad, forgetting about me."

"We never forgot about you, Christy. We didn't know where you are or how we count find you." Billie told her. "Mom and dad spent years looking for you."

"Well, they didn't look hard enough." Christy said.

"They couldn't have saved you, Christy. They were mortals. How could they free you from the Triad?" Billie asked. "You can't blame them."

"I don't blame them, Billie." Christy said. "I used to, but I realized that all of this was to prepare me for my destiny. I should thank them."

"How can you say that?" Billie asked with tears in her eyes.

"The Triad showed me my true purpose, I needed to get away from them. And from you. Your humanity made you weak, and it would have made me weak as well." Christy said.

_So Christy didn't even consider herself human anymore?_ Billie thought.

"So it's better to be brainwashed by the Triad to become evil?" Billie asked.

"I really don't have time for this discussion again, Billie. We both made our choices." Christy said and she turned around and walked to the door.

"You can't leave me here!" Billie yelled.

"Don't worry, you're safe here." Christy said.

"We're in the underworld, Christy, how is this safe?" Billie asked.

"What makes you think we are in the underworld?" Christy asked with an evil smile.

Then Billie realized what had truly happened. Christy had possessed her in the platform room. All of this, the cave, the underworld, it wasn't real. They were inside her mind, and Christy was in control. She had taken over her body and had put Billie in her own personal hell.

This had been her true plan all along, she was incorporeal, so she needed a body to take her revenge on the sisters. She had lured Billie into a trap.

"You planned all of this from the beginning." Billie said. "Coming to my dorm room, knowing that I would go to the sisters. All of this time you were planning to possess me so you could use me to kill them."

"True." Christy simply stated. "Though there was still a part of me that hoped that you would join me. It didn't have to be like this."

"You manipulated me once, Christy. You should have known I would never trust you again." Billie said.

"You're my sister, Billie. I wasn't going to give up. But now that you have stabbed me in the back twice, we're done." Christy stated.

"And what is going to happen now?" Billie asked. "If you manage to kill the sisters? What will happen to me?"

"'We'll see. For now you can enjoy my worst nightmare." Christy said.

Christy closed the cell door behind and walked away without looking back. Billie was screaming at her from her cell. A smile formed on Christy's face, she could finally take revenge of the Charmed Ones and fulfill her destiny. And they wouldn't even see it coming.

Back in the platform room, Billie was lying unconscious on the floor. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she quickly got to her feet. She stared down at her body and an evil smile formed on her lips. As she left the platform room her eyes briefly glowed orange.

Xxx

Back in the main hall, the remaining tribal demons gathered around their leader. Their numbers has been dropping rapidly, and only a small group of about ten was left. The Charmed Ones had proved to be too much to handle.

"We should get out of here while we still can!" One of the demons said.

Several other demons nodded and yelled in agreement.

"There is no point in staying here, waiting for them to vanquish us." Another said.

Their leader listened to their arguments in silence. He knew they were scared of the Charmed Ones and that they knew they didn't stand a chance. Little did they know, however, that they were never meant to defeat them. They were merely a distraction until the witch was ready. And once the witch finally vanquished the Charmed Ones, he would get unlimited power.

"We're staying." The leader finally said.

"Are you crazy?" One of the other demons yelled. "They'll kill us all!"

"You dare to question me?" he said threatening while forming an energy ball in his hand.

"You are leading us to our doom. Why are you doing this?" his subordinate demanded to know.

"Enough!" the leader yelled and threw the energy ball, vanquishing the other demon. He then turned to the rest. "Any of you have anything to add?"

"We do." Piper's voice sounded from behind.

The tribal leader quickly spun around with an energy ball ready. The Charmed Ones were standing in the door opening.

Before the leader could react, Piper had already raised her hands and blasted him. The leader was blasted in the chest and was thrown back against a desk.

"He is stronger than the others." Paige said.

"Ya think?" Piper remarked.

"Kill them!" the leader screamed.

Several demons threw energy balls at the sisters, but Phoebe threw a couple of potions that intercepted them, creating a huge explosion in the center of the room. Before the smoke had a chance to clear, Phoebe and Paige threw the last of their potions, vanquishing two demons, while Piper blew a third one up with her powers.

Meanwhile the tribal leader and gotten back up on his feet and threw an energy ball at Piper. The energy ball hit her in the shoulder the blast threw her back into the corridor.

"See, they are not invincible!" The tribal leader yelled at his men.

The other demons continued throwing energy balls but Phoebe managed to deflect them using her empathy to tap into their powers. Meanwhile Paige ran back to Piper and started healing her.

"Every single time." Piper said annoyed. "Why do they always aim for me?"

"Guess you're just lucky." Paige said while healing the large burn wound on her shoulder.

"Guys, hurry up! I can't keep this up much longer." Phoebe yelled.

The straining use of her empathy was quickly tiring her out as the demons kept throwing energy balls at her. The energy balls were deflected.

"All finished." Paige said as Piper's wound completely closed up.

"I've had enough on this, let's finish it." Piper said as Paige helped her up. "Phoebe, any spells left to get rid of them?"

"Yeah, I got one, it's a power of three spell so we need some time." Phoebe almost whispered, almost exhausted.

Paige and Piper ran back to Phoebe. Paige looked around and saw a large bookcase that had fallen over. She held out her arm and called it out. As soon as the bookcase became surrounded in orbs she flung her arm at the demons. The bookcase was thrown across the room, smashing into the group of demons.

"Quickly, the spell." Piper said.

Piper and Paige gathered around Phoebe, who grabbed a small note from her pocket. The sisters shared hands and started chanting the spell Phoebe held out.

"_Within this school, place of power,_

_Evil roams and demons cower._

_We call upon the power of three,_

_To clear this school and set it free."_

While the sisters chanted, the tribal leader got up and prepared to throw an energy ball. Piper noticed him in time and freezes him without interrupting the spell. The tribal leader proved to be too strong for her freezing power and immediately started resisting it.

_Hear now the witches' calls, _

_Rid all evil from these walls._

_Demons, spirits and other ghouls,_

_We banish you from this school."_

As soon as they finished the spell a powerful transparent force field formed around the sisters that started expanding rapidly. The force field was crackling with energy. As soon as it reached the demons they were vanquished by the pure force of the field. One by one the demons were vanquished as the force field reached them.

The tribal leader, who had just broken free from Piper's freeze, tried to shimmer away right before the field reached him. He was caught in a half shimmer and screamed as he exploded.

The force field started expanding faster and then broke apart, sensing a powerful energy blast through the entire school.

Xxx

Christy, still possessing Billie's body, was walking through the empty corridors when she suddenly lost telepathic contact with the tribal leader. Fool, she thought to herself, vanquished already. She never expected him to outlive his usefulness anyway. It was just her and the Charmed Ones now, nothing could possibly stop her now.

Christy stopped as she felt something coming closer. It felt like an unstoppable force heading straight for her. She looked up ahead the corridor to see a wall of energy coming at her.

She quickly threw up her arms to cover her face right before the blast reached her. Christy screamed as the blast threw her back through the corridor, slamming her into a wall behind her.

Xxx

Meanwhile in the underworld cave within her own mind, Billie was sitting against the cold wall, blankly staring at the opposite wall. She had tried to break free from her chains, but they seemed unbreakable. Inside this place, she didn't have her powers, she was helpless.

She could only hope that the sisters would see through Christy before it was too late. She would stop at nothing to kill them. But how were the sisters going to stop Christy?

Billie wondered how this was going to end, if the sisters fought Christy, it could very well mean the end of her as well. They were sharing a body after all. It was a sacrifice Billie herself was willing to make to pay for her mistakes, but would the sisters be able to do it?

Suddenly, a powerful force blasted through the cave. Billie screamed and tried to cover herself as she was hit by the force.

It was gone as sudden as it had appeared. Billie realized that the blast hadn't affected her, but when she lowered her arms, she noticed that it had broken her chains.

Billie quickly took of her chains and threw them aside. She got up and ran to the heavy wooden door. It was still locked. She peeked outside the small window, for the most part she only saw more caves, but then the noticed something else.

On the other side of the room, there was a door, but not just any door. It was completely black, and a bright light was shining through the cracks. It had to be a way out.

Xxx

Christy opened her eyes and quickly got up, the blast had knocked her out for a moment. She was still in control of Billie's body, however.

That blast must have been the work of the Charmed Ones. Only they could produce something that powerful. She had been lucky that she had already possessed Billie when the blast hit, as her astral form would have been destroyed by it.

Christy tried to take a step forward, but found that the blast had injured Billie's body more then she expected. She wasn't used to feeling pain anymore. The Triad had trained her to block it out in ways she didn't want to think about. She quickly pulled herself together, she was too close now to let a little pain get in her way.

Xxx

Back in the main hall, the effects of the spell had worn off. Piper, Phoebe and Paige let go of each other and looked around. Their spell had destroyed every demon in the room, but left the room itself unharmed.

"Did it work?" Piper asked curious.

"Of course it did, didn't you feel that power coursing through you?" Paige asked.

"The power of three never stops surprising me." Phoebe said.

"Well, we know it took care of the tribal demons." Piper said."But we have no idea if Christy is still out there."

"We need to find Billie." Phoebe said. "I know she wanted to handle Christy, but I'm not sure if she can."

"It was your idea to let her go off alone." Piper said.

"I know, but now I'm not so sure anymore. I just feel like something is wrong." Phoebe said concerned.

"Paige, she is your charge. Can you sense her?" Piper asked.

"I'm ready trying." Paige said with her eyes closed. "Our bond hasn't been that great lately, so it's kinda difficult."

After a short silence Paige opened her eyes.

"I can't sense anything." Paige said. "I don't feel her presence anywhere."

"That can't be good." Piper noted.

"We need to go to the platform room." Phoebe said worried.

They turned around and walked to the doorway, but suddenly Billie came walking in the room. The sisters stopped and took a step back. They were both relieved as well as a little suspicious.

"Hey guys." Billie said.

"Billie, what happened?" Phoebe asked, looking at Billie's injuries.

"I ran into a couple of demons, I took care of them." Billie said.

"What about Christy?" Piper asked suspicious.

"I..I dealt with her." Billie said with sad face. "There was no other way."

"How?" Paige asked surprised.

"It was like we said." Billie told them. "She was tied to the platform, just like the Triad. I destroyed the platform and she just vanished."

"Just like that?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, there wasn't really much she could do. She was a sprit. She only had a couple of demon body guards." Billie explained.

"So it's over now. Christy is gone and Magic school is in the hands of good again." Paige said.

"Right." Billie said and she smiled.

The sisters exchanged concerned looks, none of them were buying the story Billie told them. Phoebe took a few steps closer to Billie and tried to use her empathy to get a reading. She felt nothing, absolutely nothing. She took a step back and shook her head. Her sisters got the message and surrounded Billie.

"What are you doing?" Billie asked confused.

"You're not really expecting us to believe this, are you?" Piper asked.

"Why not?" Billie asked. "Guys, come on I'm telling you the truth. Look, I know we had our differences but you can trust me now."

"Oh, we do trust you, Billie." Phoebe said. "The only problem is that you're not Billie."

"What are you guys talking about. Of course it's me." Billie said.

"Just drop the act, its over." Piper said.

"Fine." Billie said, suddenly her tone and expression seemed completely different, cold and full of hate, revealing that it was in fact Christy.

"What have you done with Billie?" Paige asked.

"I've done nothing to Billie. She's here with me." Christy said.

"You're possessing her?" Piper asked in disgust. "How can you do that to your own sister?"

"She's not my sister anymore." Christy said. "She stopped meaning anything to me when she betrayed me for you."

"Billie, can you hear me? I know you're in there somewhere." Phoebe said, hoping to reach Billie.

"Oh please, that's really desperate." Christy said. "Billie had left the building, there is no way you can reach her."

"Sorry, but we don't believe you." Piper said.

"What is it you want, Christy?" Phoebe asked.

"You know what I want." Christy said.

"Yeah, us dead." Paige said. "But the Triad is gone. There is nothing to gain from killing us."

"Killing you will fulfill my destiny." Christy said. "I am doing this for the greater good. The Triad has shown me my path."

"Are you really that stupid?" Piper asked. "The Triad were evil. You are not working for the greater good. They used you."

"I don't care what you say." Christy said.

"Fine" Piper said and she flicked her hands, trying to blow Christy up. It didn't do anything, however, Christy just stared at her with a smile.

"Piper, how could you do that? What if you had blown up Billie?" Phoebe called out.

"Oh please." Piper said. "I had a feeling you wouldn't come out to face us like this."

"Looks like I need to think of something more original." Christy said and then faded away.

"Astral projection… Of course, I should have known." Phoebe said.

"We need to figure out what to do, find a way to extract her from Billie." Paige said.

"We should check the book." Piper added.

"No." Phoebe said determined. "We can't leave Billie."

"I'm sure she's fine. Christy is possessing her for a reason, she needs her alive." Piper said.

"For now. But what if she no longer needs Billie?" Phoebe asked.

"She does have Ultimate power now, imagine what she could do with Billie's projection power." Paige said.

"All the more reason we need to get out of here and check the book before she comes at us with full power." Piper said.

"All right. But we should hurry." Phoebe said.

The sisters got together and Paige grabbed both of her sisters' hands. They started to dematerialize in a swirl of orbs but a sudden explosion threw all three of them in different directions across the hall. Each of the sisters crawled up from the floor and saw Christy walking into the room with a ball of fire in her hand.

"You're not going anywhere." Christy said.

xxx


	7. Chapter 7

The Closing Chapter 7

xxx

At Henry and Paige's apartment, Leo was sitting on the couch watching Wyatt and Chris play with the toys they had brought. Luckily the boys were still young enough to be distracted by toys while their mother and aunts were probably out fighting for their lives. Leo hoped that his sons would never have to worry about Piper as much as he did.

He trusted Piper and deep down he knew that everything would be alright, probably. After all they had visited the future together and saw they would be fine. But how reliable was that? If they had learned anything the past few years is that the future wasn't set in stone.

Henry came back into the living room holding two cups of coffee, handing one to Leo as he sat down next to his brother-in-law. They had never spent much time together alone, so Henry was a little nervous. He sat quietly trying to think of something to say.

"So do you think the girls are all right?" Henry asked, he never was a big fan of small talk.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Leo said. "They've been through worse."

"Really? Paige told me everything about Christy, that girl is pretty messed up, and dangerous." Henry said.

"Christy was mainly a threat when she was united with Billie, and she is back on our side now, thank God." Leo said. "But you're right, Christy is still dangerous."

"Man. Do you ever get used to this?" Henry asked. "I mean, I worry every time Paige orbs out of here in a hurry."

"You never get used to it." Leo calmly said. "But I guess it is a matter of trust and faith. They are the most powerful witches ever, and they have each other."

"And we're pretty much useless." Henry said. "At least you used to an Elder. You were just as strong as them. Don't you miss that?"

"Sometimes But then I remember why I gave it up." Leo said, staring at his boys.

"They are great." Henry said. "I can't wait for Paige and me to have kids."

"Have you talked about it yet?" Leo asked.

"I brought it up once." Henry said. "But Paige isn't ready for a baby yet. She is just starting to figure out how to balance her life as it is."

"Well, you've got time." Leo said. "And once the sisters have reclaimed the school and dealt with Christy, their destiny is fulfilled and we can all have a quieter live."

"Yeah, but do you really think that they will ever be truly finished?" Henry asked.

"I don't know." Leo said, but secretly he knew the answer.

The girls may have almost fulfilled their destiny, but being a witch would always be a part of their lives, and the lives of their children. In all honesty Leo knew that the battle between good and evil would never end. He just hoped that the role of the Charmed Ones would finally become smaller, allowing them to combine it with a normal life outside of magic. They just had to make it through this last battle.

xxx

Phoebe ran across the hall and ducked behind a pillar to avoid a large fire ball that was aimed at her. She quickly got up and took cover behind the pillar, taking a peek at the situation. Christy, still possessing Billie's body, was standing in the middle of the grand hall of Magic school throwing fire balls left and right, trying to kill her and her sisters. Paige had managed to take cover behind a thrown over desk while Piper was behind a pillar on the other side of the room.

"You can't keep hiding forever." Christy said loudly. "You will have to face me sooner or later."

"Don't do this, Christy. It's not too late to go back." Phoebe called out, knowing that it was a lie.

"Don't even try to talk you way out of this. You had this coming for a long time." Christy said.

"And what is it exactly what we did again?" Phoebe asked.

"You know damn well. Abusing your powers for your own selfish needs, abandoning the innocents you are supposed to protect, working with demons and avatars to get what you want, no matter the cost." Christy summed up.

"We are all human, Christy. We make mistakes just like everyone else. But we are good." Phoebe pleaded.

"With powers like yours the price for your mistakes are too high." Christy said. "It has to end."

"Well, we finally agree on something, because I am getting really fed up with your attitude." Piper suddenly said in an annoyed tone. "You are the one who is working for demons and you are the one possessing your own sister. You are the bad guy here, Christy, not us."

"I only do what I have to take you out." Christy replied angrily.

She threw a large fireball against the pillar Piper was hiding behind. Piper felt the heat of her attack burn on her skin, but the pillar have her enough protection. It wouldn't for much longer however, as it was starting to crack. Christy was right, this had to end now.

Piper looked at Paige's direction, who was staring back at her. The desk she was hiding behind was blackened and smoking. It wouldn't last much longer. Piper signaled Paige, trying to tell her to distract Christy when she gave the sign and then tried to sign Phoebe to run once she did. Waiting for Christy to turn her back on Paige, Piper gave the signal. Paige jumped up from behind the desk.

"Hey Christy!" Paige called out.

Christy instantly turned around and threw a fireball at Paige, who called it out and telekinetically orbed it back to her. Before the fireball hit Christy it was dissolved by a simple glare from Christy. She tried to form another fire ball but was clubbed from behind with a piece of wood by Piper.

"Run." Piper yelled as Christy fell to the ground.

Piper, Phoebe and Paige started to run and together fled the main hall into the never ending corridors.

A mere moment after they ran out, Christy's eyes opened in pure rage and she rose back to her feet using levitation. She felt the back of her head and looked at her fingers. They were covered in blood, Billie's blood. The blunt blow to the head made her a little lightheaded, but she easily shook it off. A small wound like that would not keep her from her destiny.

xxx

Piper, Phoebe and Paige ran through the corridors and eventually found themselves in the dark platform room. They quickly closed the door behind them. They each let out a sigh of relief but kept their guard up. Christy would not give up easily.

"Can somebody tell me how we're supposed to take out Christy without killing Billie?" Paige asked.

"We need to find a way to free Billie first." Phoebe said.

"Yeah, but how? Christy is coming at us with everything she's got. If we don't do something now.." Piper said.

"What are you saying, Piper? That we just kill Billie?" Phoebe interrupted her.

"I'm saying we might not have a choice." Piper explained. "Look, I don't want to kill Billie. I have just gotten to the point where I think I might be able to forgive her, but if it comes down to them or us….."

"No, there has to be another way." Phoebe said determined. "We should try a spell to exorcise Christy or something. "

"Christy is far too powerful for that. She wouldn't let us." Piper said.

"Maybe. But I don't think Christy realizes how powerful she is just yet." Paige said. "I mean, she has Billie's projection power now. She could kill us with just one thought."

"Maybe she is not able to control Billie's powers fully yet." Phoebe said.

"Well, at least that's one good thing." Piper remarked.

The girls all stood still for a moment, trying to think of a way out of the mess they were in.

"Maybe we're thinking about this all wrong." Phoebe suddenly said. "I mean, all we're thinking about is getting rid of Christy. How about reaching out to Billie instead?"

"What do you mean?" Paige asked.

"Look, I know Christy said Billie is out of our reach, but she has to be in there somewhere." Phoebe continued. "If we can just get through to her, maybe she can take back control."

"And what about Christy?" Piper asked.

"Once we free Billie, she will do the right thing." Phoebe said confidently.

"And what if she can't?" Piper asked.

"Then we will do whatever it takes." Phoebe said.

"Okay, are we sure about this?" Paige asked.

Before any of them could respond, the door was shattered by a large fire fall, followed by Christy walking in.

"I'm getting really tired of this running. It's over." Christy said.

She held out her hand and a powerful stream of concentrated blue fire, much like the one Phoebe has used when she was carrying the Source's heir. Piper quickly raised her hands and froze the fire.

"Power of three spell." Piper said.

Instinctively, the sisters joined hands and started chanting the Power of Three spell, the spell that had saved their lives over and over again during their most dangerous fights.

"_The power of three will set us free_

_The power of three will set us free_

_The power of three will set us free"_

The stream of fire Christy had sent out unfroze and hit an invisible force field that had formed around the sisters. Christy screamed in anger and held out her other arm, sending another stream of destructive fire at the sisters. As the sisters kept chanting, the force field protected them.

"Keep chanting." Phoebe said.

Phoebe closed her eyes and channeled her empathy as Piper and Paige kept chanting. While they remained in contact, the force field held up. Phoebe tried to reach out to Billie, but hit a barrier of her own.

"_Billie is gone, I am in control now." _Christy telepathically send to Phoebe.

Phoebe used her empathy to tap into Christy's telepathic abilities, so she could call out to Billie.

"_Billie can you hear me?"_ Phoebe send out, ignoring Christy. _"We need you to fight. Don't let Christy do this."_

"_You'll never reach her. She is lost." _Christy said.

"_I know you are stronger then her, Billie. You can defeat her. We trust you."_ Phoebe said.

"_You trust her? Are you kidding me? She tried to kill you. You can't trust her." _Christy said.

"_Billie, fight her. Come back to us." _Phoebe pleaded.

"_Stop it!"_ Christy telepathically screamed in anger, the force of her scream actually hurt Phoebe.

"_Billie!" _Phoebe called out in pain.

xxx

Billie was kicking against the large wooden door of her cell. She felt like she had been trying to break it down forever and her feet hurt, but she had to get out of here. Unfortunately the door seemed unbreakable, she hadn't even been able to damage it a little.

Who knew what Christy was doing out there with her body, for all she knew she had already killed the sisters. No, if she had done that, she would have already shown up to gloat about it. She still had a chance, she couldn't give up now. If only the door would crack.

Billie suddenly felt a rush of anger, but it wasn't coming from herself, it was Christy. But how could she feel what Christy was feeling? Maybe Christy was losing control.

Billie felt a conflict going on, Christy was furious, ready to kill. She must be fighting the sisters, Billie thought to herself. If she was going to escape, it had to be now while Christy was distracted.

Billie kept kicking the door, but it still wouldn't break. Billie screamed in frustration and tears started to roll down her face. She was helpless, and the thought of giving up briefly flashed through her mind.

Suddenly voices echoed through the cave.

"_Billie can you hear me? We need you to fight. Don't let Christy do this."_

"_You'll never reach her. She is lost."_

"_I know you are stronger then her, Billie. You can defeat her. We trust you."_

"_You trust her? Are you kidding me? She tried to kill you. You can't trust her."_

"_Billie, fight her. Come back to us._"

"_Stop it!"_

"_Billie!" _

It was Phoebe, Billie thought. She was reaching out to her. Her voice sounded so sincere and loving. They trusted her, they needed her. She couldn't give up now, she needed to keep fighting. Christy couldn't win, she couldn't let the sisters down.

Billie got up. All her fear and doubts were gone. Phoebe's words had given her a new inner strength. All that mattered now was stopping Christy. Billie braced herself and gave the cell door a single kick. Empowered by her telekinesis, her kick was so strong that the door completely shattered.

Billie stepped out of the cell and headed for the strange black door at the other side of the cave. As she swung it open, she was engulfed in white light.

Xxx

Billie found herself in the platform room, as she turned around she saw the battle that was going on. Christy was throwing fire at the sisters, trying to kill them. Meanwhile the sisters were holding hands and chanting, formed a protective force field around them. To Billie, Christy appeared as herself, while the sisters were still seeing her as Billie.

Billie noticed something weird. The scene was playing out in black and white and the sound was muted, she couldn't hear a thing. It was like watching an old movie.

The sisters didn't seem to notice Billie, it was like she was invisible to them. Christy, however, seemed to be shocked to see her standing in between her and the Charmed Ones. She focused her attention on Billie while she continued her attack on the sisters.

"How?" Christy asked. "How did you get out?"

"It was easy, all I needed was a little encouragement." Billie said.

"It doesn't matter, I am still in control." Christy said, though she seemed unsure.

"I can't let you go through with this, Christy. I have to stop you." Billie said determined but heartbroken.

"Why?" Christy asked. "Why can't you see what I need to do? Why do keep betraying me, Billie?"

"Because you are evil, Christy." Billie said saddened. "It took me a while to admit it, but it's so clear now. Everything that has happened to you, everything the Triad put you through, it has changed you. And there is no going back."

"Billie…" Christy started to say.

"I can't talk anymore, Christy. It hurts too much. It's over." Billie said.

"No! It's not over!" Christy screamed out. "It will never be over! I live in hell, Billie. I may be out of the underworld, but it will never leave me. And it is all your fault, yours and mom and dad's. You abandoned me."

"No, we didn't." Billie said crying. "What happened to you was beyond our control. We all felt guilty for too long. Mom and dad died with that guilt. I won't, Christy, I refuse to."

"So I guess this is it?" Christy asked in tears "You are going to really kill me now?"

"I am going to take your suffering away, so you can finally be at peace." Billie said softly.

Peace, it was a word that sounded strange to Christy, she had never known it, had never known how it felt. Maybe it was time to finally do. More than anything, she just wanted it to be over. The pain and hatred inside her, it was enough.

Billie wiped her tears away, she was done crying. She knew what had to done. Suddenly it all made sense to her. She ran toward her sister and jumped. The moment they touched their bodies merged back into one, Billie's body. The scene instantly regained color and sound as Billie stumbled back and the fire dissolved.

"Billie?" Piper asked carefully.

"Yeah, it's me." Billie said.

"Is it over? Is Christy gone?" Paige asked.

"Not yet." Billie said.

Billie knew what she had to do. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the power stripping potion she had made before they left for the school. She started at it for a second and then threw in down at her feet. As white smoke started to surround her, Christy appeared in front of her surrounded by golden orbs.

"It's over, Christy. Be at peace." Billie whispered.

Christy said nothing, but simply smiled at her. For Billie it was enough, she knew her sister could finally say goodbye to a life of pain and misery. The golden orbs started to swirl around Christy and she slowly started to fade away, Billie started to cry for her sister one last time. When she was gone, the orbs popped into millions of gold tiny gold orbs, like firework.

Everyone stood silent for a moment, Phoebe was the first one to take action. She walked to Billie and hugged her. Soon afterward, Piper and Paige joined her. This nightmare was finally over for all of them, and they could move on.

"What just happened?" Paige asked after the group hug was broken up.

"That was a power stripping potion." Billie explained. "Christy was an astral spirit, her mind survived thanks to her telepathy. "

"So without her powers, she ceased to exist?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." Billie said.

"How did you know?" Phoebe asked.

"When I was up in the attic, the Book of Shadows opened itself. It showed me the page the potion was on." Billie said. "Back then, I didn't know what is was for, but it just suddenly made sense to me."

"I wonder who showed you." Piper said with a smile.

"Wait, but if that was a power stripping potion, does that mean that..?" Paige suddenly asked.

"That my powers are gone?" Billie finished her sentence. "Yeah."

"Oh my god, Billie." Phoebe said sympathetically.

"It's okay. Maybe this was how it was meant to end." Billie said.

"Are you sure?" Piper asked.

"I don't know." Billie said. "But if it brings Christy peace and ends it all, then I think it is worth it."

"I think understand." Piper said, followed by a moment of silence.

"What do you say we get going, guys?" Paige suggested. "I don't know about you, but I've seen enough of this place for today."

"I couldn't agree more." Phoebe said.

"All right then." Paige said and grabbed Piper and Phoebe's hands.

"Come on." Piper said with a smile as she took Billie's hand.

Billie gave Piper a smile back and stood next to her. All four of them became surrounded in blue orbs as Paige orbed them home.

xxx

Author's note:

Well, my story is almost over, just one (maybe small) chapter left to resolve the last plotlines. I want to thank everyone who has read my story and hope that you will review. I really want to continue writing, so any feedback and criticism would be very useful. So Please post an honest review, even if you think the story sucks!


	8. Chapter 8

The Closing Chapter 8

xxx

Paige was standing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge overlooking the bay. It had been a week since the battle at Magic School. It had been a quiet, peaceful week, the way life should be now that they had fought the Ultimate battle twice. It had also been a week full of soul searching, thinking about everything that had happened.

Knowing what sacrifice Billie had made to save their lives and stop Christy once and for all, Paige felt that every doubt, any resentment or pain Billie's betrayal had given her had dissolved. She had done everything in her power to make up for her mistakes. She couldn't blame her anymore.

As her whitelighter Paige had reached out to Billie several times this week, but all Billie had said is that she needed time to think. Paige understood, once again her whole life had been turned around again. As a whitelighter, that was all Paige could do, but she was more than just Billie's whitelighter, she was a friend and family. If only she knew what else to do.

Suddenly a trail of orbs descended down next to Paige, bringing her back to reality. She turned around and saw it was Noah, the young Elder.

"Hello Paige." Noah said while looking around. "Nice view. No wonder you always meet with the Elders here."

"Hi Noah." Paige said. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Magic School, estimating the damage?"

"I think the other Elders got that covered." Noah said. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" Paige asked.

"How is Billie doing?" Noah asked concerned.

"She is dealing with it, in her own way." Paige said. "She needs a little time before she is ready to talk."

"I can't imagine what she has been through the last year." Noah said.

"I don't think we want to." Paige agreed. "She has lost so much. And it all started when she found out she was a witch. Makes you wonder if it's even worth it."

"You don't mean that." Noah said. "If anyone knows what magic can bring someone, it's you."

"Yes, well the difference is I found a family through magic, she lost one." Paige said.

"And found another." Noah added.

"I just wish there was something more we could do for her." Paige said.

"In time." Noah said. "When she is ready."

"I hope so." Paige said. "So what is the status on Magic School?" she added, wanting to change the subject.

"Well, there isn't much left standing. But nothing we can't fix." Noah said. "Magic School can be reopened in a few days."

"That soon?" Paige asked.

"Repairing the damage isn't difficult, a few spells should take care of that." Noah said. "But the real problem is getting the school functional again. Most teachers and student fear the school isn't safe anymore."

"I can see why people would feel that way, that trust needs to be earned back." Paige said.

"That's easier than it sounds. I wonder if they will ever feel safe there again." Noah said.

"In time." Paige said, using Noah's own words against him, causing him to smile.

"You're right." Noah said. "I need to get going. Tell your sisters you have the Elders' thanks. "

"You're welcome." Paige said.

Noah orbed out, leaving Paige standing on the bridge alone again.

xxx

Piper was up in the attic of the Halliwell manor, she was sitting on the couch with the Book of Shadows on her lap. She was flipping through it while she was lost in thoughts.

She was thinking about what Billie had told them, that someone had shown her the page with the power stripping potion. Piper wondered who is was, Grams would have had no problem making herself known, so it couldn't be her. Piper thought she knew who it was, someone she hadn't seen in a long time and still missed every single day.

Her trail of thoughts was interrupted by Leo walking in.

"Hi, back so soon?" Piper asked. "How was the park?"

"It was great, the boys loved it." Leo said as he said down next to her. "What are you doing?"

"Just thinking." Piper said.

"About Billie?" Leo asked.

"Something like that." Piper said.

Her mind had been with Billie a lot the past week, but she didn't know how to handle it. She had forgiven Billie, but she still felt it difficult to reach out to her. After everything that had happened, she knew Billie needed someone, but was it her place to do so?

"I think you should reach out to her." Leo said.

"Leo.." Piper began.

"Don't, Piper." Leo said. "I know it's difficult for you, but I think it's time to move on. She needs a family now."

"You're right." Piper said after a moment of silence.

"Really?" Leo asked surprised.

"Yes. I have been thinking about it." Piper said. "After everything Billie has done for us, I think we owe her that."

"Are you sure?" Leo asked.

"No. But I need to do something." Piper said.

xxx

Along with her friend Taylor, Billie was walking down the hall of her college. They had just finished their first class of the day and had a free period. It felt good to be back in school again, Billie thought. She had missed out on a lot mourning Christy the first time, and she decided she wasn't going through that again.

"I'm so happy you're back, Billie." Taylor said. "I was so worried about you."

"I know, I'm sorry." Billie said. "I was going through some stuff."

"Yeah, I figured." Taylor said. "Look I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but if you do, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

"Thanks, Taylor." Billie said. "But I finally feel like everything is going in the right direction again and I just want to move on."

"That's fine by me." Taylor said. "You want to get a cup of coffee?"

"I'd love to, but I'd thought I'd use this free time to catch up on everything that I've missed." Billie said.

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit." Taylor said.

Billie waved goodbye to Taylor and headed outside. Her dorm was just on the other side of the campus. As she walked on the grass, she enjoyed the nice day. For the first time in a long time she actually felt normal again. It was weird, but she liked it. She had always loved being a witch, but with everything that had happened, she was glad to get some sense of normal life.

Still, everything wasn't great. What happened with Christy had taken a toll on her and her sleep was still filled with nightmares. It wasn't as bad as before, knowing that Christy had finally found peace, but they were still there. And even though she loved feeling normal, she couldn't deny that a part of her would always miss being a witch.

Billie reached her dorm building, but as she entered she found a big surprise waiting for her inside. Piper was just coming down the stairs that lead to the dorm rooms.

"Piper." Billie said surprised.

"Billie, hi. I was just looking for you." Piper said.

"Why?" Billie asked, perhaps a bit too direct.

A group of students walked by, making Piper feel uncomfortable. She didn't want to have this conversation in the middle of a hallway.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, let's go up to my room." Billie said.

Piper followed Billie to her dorm room. As they entered, Billie threw her bag on the bed and sat down. Piper closed the door behind them and stood in the middle of the room.

"So you're taking classes again?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to put the past behind me, get my mind of things." Billie said.

"Good for you." Piper said. "It's good that you're moving on."

"So why did you want to talk to me?" Billie asked, more polite this time.

"I just wanted to see how you are doing." Piper said.

"I'm fine." Billie said.

"Look, Billie, I know what it is like to lose a sister." Piper said as she sat down next to Billie. "It can destroy you, and it is too much to carry by yourself."

"Why do you care?" Billie asked.

"Because I care about you, Billie." Piper said. "You are like family to me."

Billie looked at her with surprise. She was shocked to hear Piper say that, she thought she still hated her for what she had done. She didn't know how to react to it, but it felt so good to hear. The sisters would always be important to her whether they wanted her or not.

"Do you really mean that?" Billie asked, while a tear welled up in her eyes.

"Yes." Piper said clearly. "Look, I have said horrible things to you, and I was so upset and furious with you, but I never hated you Billie. I wouldn't admit it to myself, but I never stopped caring."

"But I have done horrible things." Billie said as she started to cry.

"And you made amends for that, Billie. You know what you did and you will probably live with that for the rest of your life, but that doesn't mean that you can't move on from it." Piper said.

"I am so sorry, Piper." Billie said tearfully.

"I know." Piper said as she pulled Billie in for a hug. "It's okay. I forgive you."

They sat there for a while Piper comforted Billie. It felt right, for both of them. Piper was glad she made this decision, though she didn't make it without help. If not for Leo and her sisters she would probably still be holding a grudge. She was just lucky to have an amazing family, including Billie.

Xxx

Later that day, Piper was busy in the kitchen preparing diner. She had asked everyone to come over and celebrate the end of a bad time in their lives. Half an hour later her sisters arrived and helped her with diner. Well, they mostly chatted while Piper did most of the work, but still. Meanwhile Leo and the guys were watching some important football game or something like that, Piper didn't really care. She was happy, it felt like she finally had the normal family she had dreamed about for so long.

The game ended around the same time that dinner was ready. A true chef like Piper knew how to plan things like that. As everyone sat down at the table Piper called their attention.

"I would like to make a toast." Piper said as she raised her glass. "But in order to do that we first have to wait until we're all here."

Everyone except Piper and Leo exchanged confused looks and noticed an extra plate on the table. As if it was magic, Billie suddenly came walking in.

"Hi guys." she said smiling.

Phoebe and Paige instantly jumped up to welcome her with a hug and guided her to her place at the table. They were so glad to see her and Billie felt the same way.

"As I was saying." Piper continued. "I would like to make a toast, and don't worry. It will be short."

Everyone picked up their glasses, even little Wyatt, though he didn't really knew what was going on. Chris, on the other hand, was completely clueless and was more interested in the food that was right in front of him.

"I would like to say that is great to have you all here, all the people that I love." Piper said. "And that whatever happened or will happen, doesn't matter, because we are a family, and a family stays together and loves unconditionally. So to family!"

"To family!" Everybody repeated and took a sip of their wine, except for Phoebe.

"Alright then, let's eat shall we?" Piper said as she sat down.

"Wait, wait, wait." Phoebe said as she got up. "I have a little something I'd like to say as well."

Everyone turned their attention to Phoebe.

"I would just like to say that Piper is right, there is nothing more important than family. A family is filled with love." Phoebe said with a smile. "And to that extent, I would just like to say that in a few months time, this family will have a little bit more love to share."

Everyone looked at each other a little confused. Piper was the first one to realize what she was saying and jumped up.

"Oh my god, you're pregnant?" Piper practically screamed out.

Everyone got up in excitement and started congratulating the soon-be parents. While the girls hugged, laughed and cried, the guys kept it more casual and manly, padding Coop on the back and shaking his hand. As soon as the initial excitement wore off, everyone sat back down.

"All right happy parents, let's eat. I didn't slave away in the kitchen just so it could get cold." Piper said with a smile.

Piper didn't need to say that twice. Everyone started digging in immediately. Piper smiled as she watched her family. This was defiantly one of the best family moments ever.

Xxx

Later that night, while everyone had gone home and everything and the boys had been put to bed, Piper once again found herself in the attic, staring at the book. Leo came into the attic, both were already dressed for bed.

"Piper, are you coming?" Leo asked yawning.

"Yes, in a minute." Piper said.

Leo said goodnight and went back downstairs. Piper walked up to the book and flipped in open. It fell exactly on the right page. There was still this one thing that was bothering her and she wanted to know for sure. Piper walked to a chest filled with magical supplies and pulled out five white candles, she placed them in a circle and lit them. She then walked back to the book and chanted the spell. Could it really finally be?

"_H__ear these words , hear my cry _

_S__pirit from the other side _

_C__ome to me, I summon thee _

_C__ross now the __G__reat __D__ivide."_

At first nothing happened, and Piper felt a sting of disappointment, she had really hoped the moment was finally there. When she moved to blow out the candles, swirling white orbs suddenly appeared taking the form of a spirit.

Piper took a step back and could only gasp. Before her a beautiful young woman with long black hair and a white dress had appeared. A familiar face that Piper had dreamed about seeing every single night for the last five years.

Piper could only whisper with tears in her eyes. "Prue."

Xxx

The End


End file.
